Digital elevation models of the Moon from Earth-based radar interferometry

摘要

Three-dimensional (3D) maps of the nearside and polar regions of the Moon can be obtained with an Earth-based radar interferometer. This paper describes the theoretical background, experimental setup, and processing techniques for a sequence of observations performed with the Goldstone Solar System Radar in 1997. These data provide radar imagery and digital elevation models of the polar areas and other small regions at /spl sim/100 m spatial and /spl sim/50 m height resolutions. A geocoding procedure relying on the elevation measurements yields cartographically accurate products that are free of geometric distortions such as foreshortening.