The Hydrosphere State (HYDROS) Mission has been selected for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Earth System Science Pathfinder (ESSP) program. The objectives of HYDROS are to provide frequent, global measurements of surface soil moisture and surface freeze/thaw state. In order to adequately measure these geophysical parameters, a system capable of simultaneously measuring L-Band radiometer brightness temperatures at 40 km resolution and L-Band radar backscatter at 3 km resolution over a very wide swath is required. In addition, these science requirements must be satisfied under the stringent cost-cap imposed on all ESSP missions. As a solution to this challenging set of requirements, a relatively large, six meter, conically-scanning reflector antenna architecture was selected for the mission design. The HYDROS instrument will fly on a General Dynamics SA-200HP spacecraft bus. Although large deployable mesh antennas have been used in communication applications, this will mark the first time such technology is applied in a rotating configuration for high-resolution remote sensing.
The Hydrosphere State (HYDROS) Mission
Space 2004 Conference and Exhibit
2004-09-28
Preprint
No indication
English
The Hydrosphere State Mission (HYDROS): an overview
NTRS | 2003
|AIAA | 2004
|AIAA-2004-5956 The HYDROS Mission
British Library Conference Proceedings | 2004
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