Disputation: Titus M. Casademont

Join the trial lecture - June 12^th at 10:15 AM (room 402, Department of Technology Systems)

"Planetary exploration using non-radar geophysical methods".

Conferral summary

Nei da, vi har ikke sett skjult vann eller gravkamre til marsboerne med vår robotradar på Mars. Likevel viser dette deg hvordan du ville søke etter dem! I stedet fant vi utenomjordisk lava som stivnet i en dunkel, lenge glemt tidsalder. Greit nok, ikke sant?

Main research findings

​We investigate how to identify buried material from planetary surfaces vehicles with radar instruments. The first such instrument on Mars is the RIMFAX Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) aboard NASA’s Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover. Its primary objective is to analyze the structure and material type of the subsurface within the first several meters. Specifically, we want to know the 'dielectric permittivity', a pivotal parameter in radar subsurface investigations. We derive the permittivity from the data we have been gathering in Jezero Crater, Mars, since Perseverance's landing there in February 2021. Our initial findings from the area suggest dense volcanic material up to at least 5 m depth. This greatly enhances our understanding of Jezero’s subsurface composition as well as of the implemented methods.
Technically speaking we adapted the hyperbola-matching for rover-mounted radar. The complexity of the Martian setting also made us incorporate hyperbolic pattern enhancement. Furthermore, we explored the complementary surface reflectivity method to synergize with hyperbola-matching. 

Chair of defence

Prof. Cecilie Rolstad Denby, Universitetet i Oslo

Adjudication committee

1. Opponent: Assoc. prof. Elisabetta Mattei, Università degli Studi Roma TRE
2. Opponent: Prof. Martin Landrø, NTNU
Chair of committee: Prof. Torbjørn Skauli, Universitetet i Oslo

Supervisors

Supervisor: Prof. Svein-Erik Hamran, University of Oslo
Co-supervisor: Prof. Henning Dypvik, University of Oslo
Co-supervisor: Prof. David A. Paige, UCLA

For more information

PhD-coordinator: Yvonne Baade
Request for thesis (.pdf)