Ricerc@Sapienza

A general closed-form model for forward scatter radar signal is tested in this work referring to a representative scenario where a rectangular metallic target crosses the baseline illuminated by a spherical wave. The received signal both in near- and far-field conditions has been validated through an ad-hoc numerical implementation on a full-wave simulation tool. The detection performance obtained by using the standard far-field model and the general closed-form model are analyzed in terms of signal-to-noise ratio and relative mismatch loss.

The Cassini RADAR altimeter has provided broad-scale surface topography data for Saturn's largest moon Titan. Herein, we adapt the delay/Doppler algorithm to take into account Cassini geometries and antenna mispointing usually occurring during hyperbolic Titan flybys. The proposed algorithm allows up to tenfold improvement in the along-track resolution. Preliminary results are provided that show how the improved topography presented herein can advance our understanding of Titan's surface characteristics.