Download or read book Spaceborne Microwave Instrument for High Resolution Remote Sensing of the Earth's Surface Using a Large-Aperture Mesh Antenna written by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2018-06-15 with total page 174 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This report describes a two-year study of a large-aperture, lightweight, deployable mesh antenna system for radiometer and radar remote sensing of the Earth from space. The study focused specifically on an instrument to measure ocean salinity and Soil moisture. Measurements of ocean salinity and soil moisture are of critical . importance in improving knowledge and prediction of key ocean and land surface processes, but are not currently obtainable from space. A mission using this instrument would be the first demonstration of deployable mesh antenna technology for remote sensing and could lead to potential applications in other remote sensing disciplines that require high spatial resolution measurements. The study concept features a rotating 6-m-diameter deployable mesh antenna, with radiometer and radar sensors, to measure microwave emission and backscatter from the Earth's surface. The sensors operate at L and S bands, with multiple polarizations and a constant look angle, scanning across a wide swath. The study included detailed analyses of science requirements, reflector and feedhorn design and performance, microwave emissivity measurements of mesh samples, design and test of lightweight radar electronic., launch vehicle accommodations, rotational dynamics simulations, and an analysis of attitude control issues associated with the antenna and spacecraft, The goal of the study was to advance the technology readiness of the overall concept to a level appropriate for an Earth science emission. Njoku, E. and Wilson, W. and Yueh, S. and Freeland, R. and Helms, R. and Edelstein, W. and Sadowy, G. and Farra, D. and West, R. and Oxnevad, K. Jet Propulsion Laboratory NAS7-1407