Advanced Planetary Radar for Exploring the Moon, Mars, and Asteroids
A special issue of Remote Sensing (ISSN 2072-4292). This special issue belongs to the section "Remote Sensing in Geology, Geomorphology and Hydrology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 May 2026
Special Issue Editors
2. Institute of Moon–Base Exploration and Observation, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China
Interests: lunar and planetary radar detection; radar astronomy; astronomical technology and methods; lunar and deep space exploration; lunar and planetary science; evolution of surface processes of solar system objects
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: electromagnetic scattering; radar imaging; ground penetrating radar; data integration; non-invasive monitoring tools
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Planetary radar techniques, including ground-based radar, orbital radar sounders, and in situ ground-penetrating radar, have become pivotal tools for probing the physical and structural properties of the shallow subsurfaces of Solar System bodies. Significant recent advancements in instrument capabilities, data processing, and interpretation methods have profoundly enhanced our understanding of lunar regolith structure, Martian water ice distribution, planetary geological evolution, and the fundamental physical properties of asteroids. Accurately characterizing the surface and subsurface properties of these bodies is crucial for understanding the formation and evolution of the Solar System, assessing the potential for in situ resource utilization (e.g., water ice), and selecting safe landing sites for future robotic and human exploration missions. This establishes planetary radar as a critically important and rapidly evolving interdisciplinary research field.
This Special Issue aims to gather cutting-edge research on planetary radar, providing a high-level platform for exchange between radar technologists and planetary scientists. It will showcase recent breakthroughs in instrumentation, signal processing, modeling, inversion, and geological interpretation to advance the quantitative, multi-dimensional exploration of the Moon, Mars, asteroids, and other celestial bodies. This journal is consistently dedicated to publishing innovative achievements in Earth and planetary science detection technologies and their applications. The theme of this Special Issue aligns perfectly with the journal's scope, emphasizing the application of advanced detection technologies (radar) to solve key planetary science questions and fostering the deep integration of technological development with scientific discovery.
Suggested themes and article types for submissions.
- Radar sounding of lunar regolith thickness and structure.
- The identification and characterization of subsurface ice in Martian polar and mid-latitude regions.
- Planetary subsurface stratigraphy and megaregolith evolution.
- Asteroid radar imaging, shape modeling, spin state, and porosity inversion.
- Radar clutter suppression, subsurface focusing, and tomography techniques.
- Planetary radar signal processing and machine learning-assisted inversion algorithms.
- Laboratory measurements of dielectric properties and scattering modeling.
- The integration of radar data with optical, thermal infrared, neutron, and spectroscopic observations.
- Calibration, validation, and uncertainty quantification for radar systems.
- Future planetary radar mission concepts, instrument design, and field analog experiments.
Dr. Chunyu Ding
Dr. Francesco Soldovieri
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Remote Sensing is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- planetary radar
- radar sounding
- ground-penetrating radar (GPR)
- lunar regolith thickness
- martian subsurface ice
- asteroid radar imaging
- dielectric and scattering models
- signal processing and inversion
- data fusion
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