Moon Echoes from the 53 MHz MST Radar at Gadanki, India

Abstract

In this article we describe the first results from the Moon echo experiment conducted using the 53 MHz MST radar located at Gadanki, India. Observations show that echoes are as strong as 20 dB above noise and these are related to radar returns at normal incidence from places close to the sub-terrestrial point on the Moon. Spectral features of these echoes are narrow, indicating the dominance of quasi-specular scattering process. At higher range, which is also related to higher incidence angle, echo power is found to remarkably decrease. These echoes are characterized with multiple spectral peaks and broader spectral features. Higher-order spectral analysis suggests that multiple spectral peaks are due to discrete multiple scattering centres. Initial results are found to be in agreement with those reported earlier at similar frequencies and are promising. Implications of these results along with the potential and future prospect of the Gadanki MST radar for Earth-based planetary research are discussed.