Method and system for two-dimensional interferometric radiometry

A method and system are disclosed for imaging a planetary surface region of interest (ROI). In a primary application, a plurality of space vehicles having antennas mounted thereupon are utilized to collect thermal radiation emitted from the ROI and generate corresponding thermal emission signals. Such thermal emission signals may be combined to yield one or more simple interferometric fringes. The simple fringes may be employed to yield a pixel image of the ROI. In one aspect, one or more simple interferometric fringes may be utilized to generate one or more compound interferometric fringes for use in formation of the pixel image. One or more compound fringes may be utilized to generate additional levels of compound fringes for use in formation of the pixel image. In another aspect, the space vehicles may be positioned in a "near-field" imaging arrangement relative to the ROI and a matched filtering approach may be utilized for extracting amplitude data from the interferometric fringe(s) on a basis for use in pixel image formation.