Mini-RF

[1][2] Previous SAR instruments, such as the radar on the Magellan mission to Venus, were large, massive, power-hungry, and expensive.

Intended as a demonstration of cheap, lightweight SAR technology, the Mini-RF instrument was designed in response to these concerns.

The original principal investigator of Mini-RF, Stewart Nozette, was arrested for espionage.

Nozette was replaced by Ben Bussey, then of APL, the Applied Physics Laboratory where Mini-RF was assembled from components developed by a consortium of industry team members.

Bussey accepted a position at NASA Headquarters and was replaced by the current principal investigator, Wes Patterson, also of APL.