Planning tool for SAR missions

A methodology was developed to assist in the planning of SAR acquisitions, supported by a user-friendly software. Using sensor parameters, the position and topography of the region of interest, and a proposed flight path, this planning tool simulates backscatter images, maps of scattering characteristics and image quality parameters such as the local incidence angle and the noise equivalent sigma0. It produces flight and ground profiles and lists of key parameters. These outputs inform about expected SAR image characteristics and can be employed for optimization of the planning. Using this tool, a non-specialist can perform a robust planning of SAR acquisitions.