Terrestrial simulations for crewed missions are critically important for testing technologies and improving methods and procedures for future robotic and human planetary exploration. In February 2018, AMADEE-18 simulated a mission to Mars in the Dhofar region of Oman. During the mission, a field crew coordinated by the Österreichisches Weltraum Forum (OeWF) accomplished several experiments in the fields of astrobiology, space physiology and medicine, geology, and geophysics. Within the scientific payload of AMADEE-18, ScanMars provided geophysical radar imaging of the subsurface at the simulated landing site and was operated by analog astronauts wearing spacesuits during extra-vehicular activities. The analog astronauts were trained to operate a ground-penetrating radar instrument that transmits and then collects radio waves carrying information about the geological setting of the first few meters of the subsurface. The data presented in this work show signal returns from structures down to 4 m depth, associated with the geology of the investigated rocks. Integrating radar data and the analog astronauts' observations of the geology at the surface, it was possible to identify the contact between shallow sediments and bedrock, the local occurrence of conductive soils, and the presence of pebbly materials in the shallow subsurface, which together describe the geology of recent loose sediments overlying an older deformed bedrock. The results obtained by ScanMars confirm that subsurface radar sounding at martian landing sites is key for the geological characterization at shallow depths. The geologic model of the subsurface can be used as the basis for reconstructing palaeoenvironments and paleo-habitats, thus assisting scientific investigations looking for traces of present or past life on the Red Planet.

中文翻译：

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AMADEE-18 上的 ScanMars 地下雷达探测实验

载人任务的地面模拟对于测试技术以及改进未来机器人和人类行星探索的方法和程序至关重要。2018 年 2 月，AMADEE-18 在阿曼佐法尔地区模拟了一次火星任务。在任务期间，由 Österreichisches Weltraum Forum (OeWF) 协调的外勤人员在天体生物学、空间生理学和医学、地质学和地球物理学领域完成了多项实验。在 AMADEE-18 的科学有效载荷内，ScanMars 提供了模拟着陆点地下的地球物理雷达成像，并由模拟宇航员在舱外活动期间穿着宇航服进行操作。模拟宇航员接受了训练，以操作探地雷达仪器，该仪器传输并收集无线电波，其中包含有关地下最初几米地质环境的信息。这项工作中提供的数据显示信号从结构返回到 4 m 深度，与所研究岩石的地质有关。结合雷达数据和模拟宇航员对地表地质的观察，可以识别浅层沉积物和基岩之间的接触、局部导电土壤的存在以及浅层地下卵石材料的存在，这些共同描述了最近的松散沉积物的地质，覆盖在较旧的变形基岩上。ScanMars 获得的结果证实，火星着陆点的地下雷达探测是浅层地质特征的关键。地下的地质模型可以作为重建古环境和古栖息地的基础，从而帮助科学调查在这颗红色星球上寻找现在或过去生命的痕迹。