Radio Astronomy Observation on Distributed Deep Space Radar: A Prototype Experiment

Earth-based deep space radar studies celestial bodies by both transmitting and receiving radio waves, while radio telescope only work passively. At the operational level, radar missions use little observation time, leaving a large portion of time available for astronomical observations. However, the principles of design for radar and radio telescope differ. There are technical challenges in making the instruments to meet the two applications simultaneously. In this study, we tried to tune a deep space radar for radio astronomical application and conducted a successful pulsar observation, which demonstrated the feasibility of using radar system, especially the distributed deep space radar, for astronomical research. Additionally, given the limited astronomical capacity at the observed frequency range, this system has the potential to contribute to long-term monitoring of specific radio sources. It is the first successful attempt to use a earth-based deep space radar system for radio astronomy in China. We also discussed the challenges of tuning a built radar for astronomical observation and proposed recommendations for designing future large-scale distributed deep space radar systems with innate astronomical capability.