Survey of Cassini Prime Mission Radar Data on Titan
Abstract
In July, 2008 the four year Cassini Prime Mission was completed. A total of 45 close Titan flybys were conducted during this mission, with radar data obtained on 23 of these. On all but one flyby some form of synthetic aperture imaging was performed covering a wide range of viewing geometry and instrument parameters. Imaging resolution varied from 300-500 m at closest approach altitudes around 1000 km to about 2 km during high altitude (20,000 km) imaging segments. Altimetry, scatterometry, and radiometry data were also obtained over a wide range of geometries. The varying geometry and instrument parameters led to varying resolution, SNR, polarization, incidence angle and noise characteristics which all have to be accounted for when interpreting these data. This presentation lays out the coverage and important characteristics of the radar data sets obtained at Titan in the prime mission. Future coverage planned for the extended mission will also be outlined. These data along with corresponding surface coverage from ISS and VIMS have revealed a diverse Titan surface and will be analyzed for many years to come. This work is supported by the NASA Cassini Program at JPL - CalTech.
- Publication:
-
AAS/Division for Planetary Sciences Meeting Abstracts #40
- Pub Date:
- September 2008
- Bibcode:
- 2008DPS....40.3116W