Echoes generation systems: SHARAD experience

NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter mission, MRO, scheduled for launch in 2005, will be equipped with a sounder to find subsurface water and ice: Shallow Radar, SHARAD. This radar has been developed by Alenia Spazio and funded by Italian Space Agency, ASI. An integral part of such kind missions is the development of an EGSE (Electrical Ground Support Equipment) capable to test all the radar functionalities. CORISTA has been responsible to define the EGSE technical requirements and to design, build and test the Mars Echoes Generation System (MEGS). This paper describes the activities developed and the results obtained during the test campaigns of SHARAD. An architectural description of the MEGS will be given with emphasis on the technical aspects related to the signal generation of Mars Echoes and possible operating modes.