An improved airborne VHF radar sounder for ice and desert exploration

The paper deals with a VHF airborne radar sounder designed for the exploration of ice sheets and arid sub-surfaces. This radar is an improved version of a previously developed prototype and is the product of a project financed by the Italian Space Agency and carried out thanks to the cooperation of Italian research units. The main characteristics of the radar, and a calibration measurement campaign, which has been performed flying over a volcanic area of Lazio region (Central Italy) in September 2017, are herein described. As discussed in the paper, the calibration campaign confirmed a correct system's operation and, in particular, the enhanced along range resolution with respect to the previous prototype. The developed system was, indeed, capable of retrieving the surface topography over a large scale and in a short time. The obtained encouraging results justified the planning of an extensive validation measurement campaign, which will be performed in May 2018 on desert areas.