Initial results of the Netlander imaging ground‐penetrating radar operated on the Antarctic Ice Shelf

Abstract

The objective of the Netlander mission was to land 4 small geophysical stations on the surface of Mars to study the deep interior, subsurface, surface and atmosphere of the planet. Included in the payload was a ground penetrating radar (GPR) designed to retrieve not only the distance but also the direction of the reflectors, thus providing a simplified 3D imaging of the subsurface. In this paper we report initial results obtained during the RANETA campaign on the Antarctic ice shelf. Data from two soundings of the ice‐bed rock interface are analyzed, demonstrating the capability of the radar to disentangle echoes from different reflecting facets of the bed rock.