MAPSAR

MAPSAR [INPE]

MAPSAR (Multi-Application Purpose SAR) is a brazilian SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) mission for Earth Observation. It will feature a sensor system for cartography, forestry, geology, geomorphology, hydrology, agriculture, disaster management, oceanography, urban studies and security.

To accomplish the overall requirements, an L-band SAR has been chosen as the only payload of a small satellite. The key component of the SAR instrument is the SAR antenna, which is designed as an elliptical parabolic reflector antenna with dimension of approximately 7,5 m (azimuth) x 5 m (range). L-band (high spatial resolution, quad-pol) has been selected for the SAR sensor as optimum frequency accounting for the majority of Brazilian and German user requirements.

The satellite will be based on INPE´s Plataforma Multimissão (Multi-Mission Platform, MMP).