Goals to be achieved
To ensure the success of the TRIPLE mission, it is mandatory to avoid obstacles in the melting probe trajectory and to detect the ice-water boundary at the bottom of the icy crust. The Institute of Microwaves and Photonics contributes to the TRIPLE-project line by developing a forefield reconnaissance system (FRS) for the melting probe based on a radar/sonar combination within the TRIPLE-FRS subproject.
Tasks within the project
• Project lead of the TRIPLE-FRS project
• Conception, design and implementation of a radar system for the melting probe
• Integration of the radar system into the melting probe
Preliminary work
The development of radio-frequency electronics and radar systems as well as signal processing is one of the core competencies of the Institute of Microwaves and Photonics (LHFT). In the DLR funded project EnEx-AsGAr, radar systems for subglacial imaging have already been a major research topic. The usability of radar technology for the desired task within TRIPLE could be demonstrated as for example a water filled crevasse in the Mittelbergferner glacier in the Austrian Alps could be detected using an FMCW radar.
Implementation steps
• Development of a radar system based on sequential sampling technique and noise correlation
• Evaluation of the radar system in terms of performance and robustness
• Integration of the radar system into the TRIPLE-FRS melting probe
• Demonstration of the forefield reconnaissance system in a terrestrial analogue scenario in the Alps