Initial Field and Calibration Tests of the WISDOM GPR for the 2018 ExoMars Mission

Abstract

The WISDOM (Water Ice Subsurface Deposit Observation on Mars) Ground Penetrating Radar has been selected for inclusion in the payload of the rover for the ESA ExoMars mission (2018) [1]. WISDOM will remotely characterize the shallow subsurface of Mars, providing information essential to understanding the local geological context and the identification of the best locations for obtaining subsurface cores with the rover’s onboard drill.The requirements for the instrument’s performance are driven by the objectives of the mission (a vertical resolution of a few cm and a nominal penetration depth of ~3 m). A series of initial field tests and calibrations have been initiated in simple environments to validate the performance of the instrument. Preliminary results show that WISDOM’s calibrated data should provide reliable contextual and quantitative information about the nature of the Martian shallow subsurface. The instrument’s depth of sounding, vertical resolution and accuracy are consistent with its expected performance.