Cassini radar instrument: radiometer mode

The Cassini Mission is a deep space mission, whose main objective is to investigate the nature of Titan, the most interesting moon of the Saturnian system. This moon is one of the bodies of the solar system that is completely obscured by cloud from optical observation. Determination of the physical structure and chemical composition could help scientists in solving the puzzle of the evolution of the solar system itself. To this end, a spacecraft will be launched toward Saturn in 1997. The spacecraft will be equipped with different type of sensors. Microwave instruments will allow the dense cloud layer to be penetrated and the surface to be observed. A multimode radar is one of these instruments and one it may operate in a radiometer mode. This paper deals with expected performance of the radiometer and reports the experimental results achieved over the engineering qualification model test campaign.