Far-Field Inversion for the Deep Interior Scanning CubeSat

TL;DR

This paper develops a new far-field full-wave Computed Radar Tomography model for reconstructing asteroid interiors, validated numerically for sparse data, with potential application in the DISCUS CubeSat mission.

Contribution

It introduces a novel far-field CRT model suitable for asteroid interior imaging and demonstrates its effectiveness with numerical validation for limited data scenarios.

Findings

Validated the far-field CRT model numerically

Effective reconstruction with sparse and limited-angle data

Potential application in asteroid interior exploration

Abstract

This study aims at advancing mathematical and computational techniques for reconstructing the interior structure of a near earth asteroid (NEA) via Computed Radar Tomography (CRT). We introduce a far-field model for full-wave CRT and validate it numerically for sparse and limited-angle data and an orbiting distance of about 5 km. As a potential future application of the proposed method, we consider the Deep Interior Scanning CUbeSat (DISCUS) concept in which two small spacecraft carrying a bistatic radar localize internal macropores inside a rubble pile asteroid.