As part of the UK Government's Space Science and Exploration Bilateral Programme,
we are working in collaboration with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)
to develop a toolbox for the processing of new lunar data.
Chandrayaan-2 arrived at the Moon in August 2019, and has since been operational and is expected to return data for three to four more years. On board, there is a Dual Frequency Synthetic Aperture Radar (DFSAR) which images in both L-band and S-band wavelengths, allowing for several metres of penetration into the lunar regolith. DFSAR also allows for fully polarised data, permitting the analysis of surface scattering behaviours in all possible configurations.
The completed application will entail several different tools for SAR processing: a radiometric correction module, stereoSAR module and a radarclinometry module. These tools will then be integrated with ISRO's Microwave Data Analysis Software (MIDAS), developed by the SAC, for a more comprehensive suite of tools for the analysis of remote sensing data.
The toolbox will be freely accessible for public use, alongside tutorial documentation and datasets for learning. In the future, a full independent SAR toolbox is planned, developed both front and back end at Royal Holloway as part of the project.
