Specify the requirements for an antenna to receive a radar signal that originates on the other side of the planet after it bounces off the moon. The signal must be received with a signal to noise ratio of 20 dB. Turn in a report of up to 5 pages or an equivalent alternative format product. (I have always hoped someone would make an infographic!)

For more information and background, please read about the historical CIA project (Links to an external site.) on which this assignment is based.

The goals of this assignment are:

You should be able to apply the Friis transmission equation or radar range equation to calculate the power budget for an antenna system.
You should be able to calculate/estimate and use the antenna metrics that are ingredients of the Friis equation/radar range equation.
You should be able to evaluate the reliability, relevance, and usefulness of information sources.
You should be able to make assumptions where necessary and justify your reasoning.
You should be able to make engineering decisions based on quantitative information.
Finding appropriate information
Moon Bounce ELINT was a real project, which collected the transmissions of a real, specific radar (nicknamed Hen House). It is your responsibility to research the information you need to solve the problem. Use primary sources: government websites and reports, peer-reviewed journal articles, textbooks, and news articles should be chosen over personal websites, how-to articles, and Wikipedia.  You are encouraged to share sources you find on the course discussion board.

Cite the sources you use. You may make assumptions about the value of a quantity if needed; justify your assumptions and provide sources for your reasoning.  Imagine that every time you state a fact, claim, or assumption, the reader will ask, “How do you know?”

Solving the Engineering Problem
Your project must answer a central question: how big does the receive antenna need to be to detect the signal transmitted by the radar of interest after it bounces off the moon in order to achieve a 20 dB peak SNR? Use the radar range equation to organize your report. Quantify the contribution of each term in dB.

Formatting
Use 11 or 12 point font on your report, A4 paper, minimum 1 inch margins. I am concerned with limiting the length of the report to 5 pages, not with requiring the report to reach a certain length. Write economically. References don’t count against the length of your report.

Figures and graphs are encouraged. They must have a descriptive caption below them and be mentioned by name in the text. See a textbook or journal article for examples. Graph axes must be labeled using text of a reasonable size, and must include units. If you use a figure you did not make yourself (this is not encouraged except for photos), you must cite the source of the figure.

Use IEEE citation format. In your writing, this usually looks like “A sentence in which I state a fact [1].” At the end of your report, your references section lists all the sources you cited, in the order in which you cited them. For more information, see this IEEE citation format guide (Links to an external site.)