LRO Mini-RF Bistatic Experiment Data Record V3(BSEDRV3)

BSEDRV3 – Bistatic Experiment Data Record V3

PDS Data Set ID: LRO-L-MRFLRO-2/3/5-BISTATIC-V3.0

For more information about Bistatic EDR products, see the Bistatic Data Set Description.

The Mini-RF (MRFLRO) Bistatic Experiment Data Record (BSEDR) data product represents the real and imaginary portions of the horizontal and vertical polarized backscattered signal acquired as bistatic radar data using the Arecibo Radar Observatory as a transmitter and the Mini-RF instrument on LRO as a receiver.

Since December 26, 2010, the Mini-RF instrument has not transmitted the RF energy required to create radar images of the lunar surface. Instead, Arecibo transmits a lefthand circular polarized (LHCP) signal at S-band wavelength that is reflected off the lunar surface and received in orthogonal linear polarization at Mini-RF. The purpose of these measurements is to explore the radar backscatter characteristics as a function of bistatic angle, the angle between the transmitted and received angles. By using both Arecibo and Mini-RF, we have the capability to collect data of the Moon with bistatic angles other than zero.

The BSEDR products are bistatic radar images in range and azimuth orientation. The range and azimuth resolution can vary on a collect-by-collect basis and are not always square. If non-square the range spacing is always larger than the azimuth spacing. An example of a typical range spacing is on the order of 40 meters, and a typical azimuth spacing can be on the order of 2 meters. Pixels are in floating point format and indicated image intensity values for the real and imaginary portions of the horizontal and vertical polarized received signal. EDRs are produced by data returned by the Mini-RF instrument in 3-bit format, along with spacecraft ephemeris and instrument timing information that characterize the acquired data.

MRFLRO BSEDRV3 products have the following file names:

LFT_ooooo_lpp_XIU_aahddd_Vn.IMG (with detached PDS label)

where:

L = LRO

F= Frequency band

S = S-band

X = X-band

B = Both

N = N/A

T = bistatic product

ooooo = the orbit number in which the data acquisition began. Numeric, range 00001…99999.

l = the product processing level (0 or 1) for bistatic products

pp = product type

HR = horizontal real

VR = vertical real

HI = horizontal imaginary

VI = vertical imaginary

DD -- derived data

X = previously indicated no map projection. It is left as X even though DATA_SET_ID LRO-L-MRFLRO-2/3/5-BISTATIC-V3.0 contains DDR and RDR products in oblique cylindrical map projection.

I = pixel resolution of 118 m/pixel which is close to the 100 m/pixel resolution of the bistatic images. See Table 16 in the data product SIS for a description of these letter codes.

U = data type of regular real number

aa = lunar latitude of the center of the bistatic image, range 0 to 90 degrees

h = hemisphere of the latitude, N for northern latitude or S for southern latitude

ddd = lunar longitude of the center of the bistatic image, range 0 to 359 degrees

n = product version number

All bistatic data products are binary image files with a ".IMG" file extension. They are accompanied by detached PDS label files with the same base file name but ending with a ".LBL" file extension.

For example, the product LST_08234_0HI_XIU_28N214_V1.IMG is a Level 1 EDR horizontal imaginary product in which the data collect began in LRO orbit number 8,234, and an image centered at lunar latitude 28N and longitude 214 degrees. It is version 1 of the product.

The PRODUCT_ID for each product is the base file name of the product (i.e., the name without the ".IMG" extension).

In ODE, BSEDRV3 products have the following product ID:

LFT_OOOOO_0PP_XIU_AAHDDD_VN