A corner reflector was installed at the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) in Utah, USA, on February 2025. It was part of Hypatia Mars II analog mission, which took place from February 2nd to 15th.
Located at 7.8 km and 5.7 km away respectively from Sentinel-3A & B ground tracks, the MDRS offers an insightful interesting spot to conduct additional calibration activities for Sentinel-3, and possibly, other satellite missions carrying radar sensors such as altimeters. The corner is paired with a GNSS antenna to provide the exact position of the device.
Localtion of the corner reflector with respect to the ground tracks of Sentinel-3A (red) and Sentinel-3B (blue).
The corner reflector has been developed by isardSAT and funded by the European Space Agency - ESA, as an extension of theSentinel-3 Land Altimetry Mission Performance Cluster Service project.
The deployment of the corner reflector and the GNSS antenna at the analog station was carried out by Hypatia Mars, a female-led organisation dedicated to advancing Martian research and outreach.
