Georadar test measurements in Kaunertal

Chilly winds, snow and severe cold awaited Ao.Univ.Prof. Karl Krainer (Institute of Geology at University of Innsbruck), one of his graduand and DI Helmut Hausmann (Institute of Geodesy and Geophysics) when they executed georadar measurements on permafrost resources at the Kaunertal glacier.

The Polares management board decided to take a look at the reliability of the technology in service. Gernot Grömer (Austrian Space Forum Innsbruck) who accompanied the geologists explains: "Permafrost might be of importance when speaking about astrobiology on Mars. That's why we are interested in that technology for the use of drilling. During the simulation we want to find permafrost lenses in the Arctic in real time to discover the best locations for the bore simulation (after data analysis in the mission control center)."

The measurements took place under difficult conditions in cliffy terrain (for example two small snow slabs went loose during the descent and strong winds blew snow into the smallest cracks of the equipment). Nevertheless data was gained in a reliable way. So the Polares team was convinced of the robustness of this technology.