Abstract
By observing deep space probes and adjacent extragalactic radio sources alternatively, VLBI array acquire data which can be used for phase referencing radio imaging of deep space probes. The offset of the target source to the image center corresponds to the relative position of the probe to the reference source. Since the position of the reference source is well known, the position of the probe can be derived in a very high precision. In this work, we study the technique of VLBI imaging for deep space probes, including the reconstruction of dirty image, the algorithm of deconvolution and the development of the specialized program ProbeMap for these purposes. With this program, we have obtained VLBI images of CE-3 Rover and Mar Express probe by utilizing observation data from Chinese VLBI Network. The comparison between our results and DIFMAP output demonstrates great consistency and therefore verifies the program. This technique can be used for high precision positioning of lunar probes and other deep space probes in the future.
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