Science, Vol.274, No.5292, 1495-1498, 1996
The Clementine Bistatic Radar Experiment
During the Clementine 1 mission, a bistatic radar experiment measured the magnitude and polarization of the radar echo versus bistatic angle, beta, for selected lunar areas. Observations of the lunar south pole yield a same-sense polarization enhancement around beta = 0. Analysis shows that the observed enhancement is localized to the permanently shadowed regions of the lunar south pole. Radar observations of periodically solar-illuminated lunar surfaces, including the north pole, yielded no such enhancement. A probable explanation for these differences is the presence of low-loss volume scatterers, such as water ice, in the permanently shadowed region at the south pole.
Keywords:OUTER PLANET SATELLITES;GREENLAND ICE-SHEET;COHERENT-BACKSCATTER;MOON;MERCURY;STABILITY;MODEL;POLARIZATION;GANYMEDE;CRATERS