Using a Ground Penetrating Radar on Mars

The use of ground penetrating radars in various industries is incredibly common…on Earth. But using it on other planets? That’ll be something new. And it’s exactly what’s about to happen with the next rover, scheduled to be sent to Mars in 2020.

Here’s a statement straight from the NASA homepage:

The Radar Imager for Mars’ Subsurface Experiment (RIMFAX) uses radar waves to probe the ground under the rover. It is located at the lower rear of the Mars 2020 rover’s “body.” The radar signals returned to RIMFAX look a little like sonograms that show structures under the Martian surface. The radar signals change depending on what materials are present underground, such as ice, rock, sand, and liquid water

Sound familiar? The folks at NASA are describing exactly how a GPR device works, in simple terms. The implications of using such a device, mounted on the rover are incredible.

The scientists down on Earth will be able to get direct data from the structure of the Martian underground. This will help us get unprecedented information about the geologic features of our neighbouring planet and bring us at least half a step closer to someday making it liveable.

Here are some tech specs about the Martian GPR:

• Mass: approx. 3 kg
• Power:5 to 10 watts
• Volume: 196 x 120 x 66 mm
• Data return: 5 to 10 kilobytes per sounding location
• Frequency range: 150 to 1200 megahertz
• Vertical resolution: As small as about 15 to 30 cm thick.
• Penetration depth: Greater than 10 m deep depending on materials.
• Measurement interval: About every 10 cm along the rover track.

The idea of using a ground penetrating radar on Mars has been brewing for a long time. In fact, Oerad Tech is one of the sponsors of the Space Team at the University of Saskatchewan in Canada. This is also one of the reasons we got so excited when we read about NASA’s plans to introduce a GPR to its rover.

The team at Saskatchewan has been working hard to create a rover prototype for exploring the surface of the red planet (and possible others). The prototype is also equipped with one of our very own GPR systems, although in a more customised version to accommodate the limitations of the rover (mainly smaller the surface and lighter weight).

From what we’ve heard the Space Team’s rover did quite well last year, placing 16th in the University Rover Challenge in Utah, and 5th overall at the Canadian International Rover Challenge in Drumheller. In Drumheller the team also placed 1st in the autonomous mining and 1st in the night search and rescue tasks. Go Space Team!

We’re excited to see what the young space enthusiasts will achieve in 2019!

Thanks for reading! Do you know any other non-profit project that can make use of a Ground Penetrating Radar? Let us know in the comments or drop us a line on our website!