Polarized Orientation Calibration and Processing Strategies for Tianwen-1 Full-Polarimetric Mars Rover Penetrating Radar Data

Abstract

China’s Tianwen-1 probe carrying the Zhurong rover has successfully landed on the southern Utopia Planitia of Mars. The Zhurong rover is first equipped with a full-polarimetric Mars Rover Penetrating Radar (FP-RoPeR) system, aiming to map the fine structure and potential water-ice distribution of Martian regolith. However, the ground experiment on earth indicates that the RoPeR data is severely affected by noises, clutters, and signal misalignment. More importantly, an imbalance between the data from two cross-polarized channels is observed which is considered to be the interference of the rover. The interference prevents the accurate assessment and analysis of field FP-RoPeR data and may even become the traps in the interpretations of future radar data from Mars. In this article, we firstly analyze the interference in detail and achieve the suppressions of noises, clutters, and signal misalignment; subsequently, a polarized orientation calibration method is proposed to calibrate the imbalance of cross-polarized channels. Finally, we introduce a field experiment at the Ulanhada volcanic geopark in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China. Based on the field RoPeR data and the proposed processing methods, we propose three types of data processing strategies for different aims and present how to use field FP-RoPeR data to analyze subsurface structures and properties.