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The Mini-RF project will fly two radar instruments to the moon to map the lunar poles, search for water ice, and to demonstrate future NASA communication technologies. The first instrument launched on the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO’s) Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft and will map both polar regions. The second instrument will fly on NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) and will perform targeted radar observations and communications demonstrations.
Chandrayaan-1’s two-year mission is India’s first to the moon. It consists of a lunar orbiter that will map the moon from a 100-kilometer circular polar orbit. It carries 11 instruments, including Mini-SAR. LRO was built at Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland. It is carrying seven instruments and will map the moon for one year from a 50-kilometer circular polar orbit.
