Calibration of data from the Antarctic Mapping Mission

In October of 1996 the RADARSAT SAR will acquire high resolution C-band radar data over the entirety of Antarctica. The mission will last for a period of about 18 days, during which 12 hours of data or approximately 3300 SAR images will be acquired. A substantial effort will be undertaken at the Alaska SAR Facility to ensure that all downlinked data is successfully acquired. To support calibration of the dataset, two transponders have been built and deployed in Antarctica. These transponders, together with other calibration targets in Alaska, Canada and Brazil will be used to calibrate the data.