Radar observation of impact craters using COSMO- SkyMed

COSMO-SkyMed is a constellation of satellites
operated by the Italian Space Agency which performs
radar observations of the Earth surface with a state of
the art Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) instrument.
We describe the recent case of high resolution radar
images collected over a newly discovered impact
crater; their analysis was very fruitful in terms of
geo-morphological analysis of the features
surrounding the crater and the search for secondary
impacts.
This early experience suggests novel applications of
COSMO-SkyMed data such as the characterization
of impact craters from space and the possibility of
setting up an automatic recognition program for
discovering small impacts in unaccessible regions.
Moreover it could be of relevance for the ESA Space
Situational Awareness Program (SSA), whose aim is
to provide "timely and quality data, information,
services and knowledge regarding the environment,
the threats and the sustainable exploitation of the
outer space surrounding our planet", because small
NEOs (Near-Earth Objects) on a collision course
with the Earth (e.g. the well known case for 2008TC3)
are likely to become the primary source of alerts
coming from the future operational SSA NEO Data
Center.