<s>
The	O
Miniature	O
Radio-Frequency	O
instrument	O
(	O
Mini-RF	B-Algorithm
)	O
is	O
a	O
synthetic	B-Application
aperture	I-Application
radar	I-Application
(	O
SAR	B-Application
)	O
instrument	O
on	O
the	O
Lunar	O
Reconnaissance	O
Orbiter	O
(	O
LRO	O
)	O
,	O
which	O
is	O
currently	O
in	O
orbit	O
around	O
the	O
Moon	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
original	O
principal	O
investigator	O
of	O
Mini-RF	B-Algorithm
,	O
Stewart	O
Nozette	O
,	O
was	O
arrested	O
for	O
espionage	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Nozette	O
was	O
replaced	O
by	O
Ben	O
Bussey	O
,	O
then	O
of	O
APL	O
,	O
the	O
Applied	O
Physics	O
Laboratory	O
where	O
Mini-RF	B-Algorithm
was	O
assembled	O
from	O
components	O
developed	O
by	O
a	O
consortium	O
of	O
industry	O
team	O
members	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Previous	O
SAR	B-Application
instruments	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
radar	O
on	O
the	O
Magellan	B-Architecture
mission	O
to	O
Venus	B-Application
,	O
were	O
large	O
,	O
massive	O
,	O
power-hungry	O
,	O
and	O
expensive	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Intended	O
as	O
a	O
demonstration	O
of	O
cheap	O
,	O
lightweight	O
SAR	B-Application
technology	O
,	O
the	O
Mini-RF	B-Algorithm
instrument	O
was	O
designed	O
in	O
response	O
to	O
these	O
concerns	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Because	O
it	O
was	O
a	O
technology	O
demonstration	O
,	O
Mini-RF	B-Algorithm
is	O
sometimes	O
not	O
included	O
in	O
lists	O
of	O
LRO	O
's	O
instruments	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
the	O
LCROSS	O
mission	O
,	O
which	O
deliberately	O
crashed	O
a	O
probe	O
into	O
the	O
lunar	O
surface	O
to	O
look	O
for	O
water	O
,	O
detected	O
water	O
in	O
Cabeus	O
Crater	O
,	O
Mini-RF	B-Algorithm
did	O
not	O
detect	O
the	O
presence	O
of	O
thick	O
deposits	O
of	O
water	O
ice	O
at	O
the	O
LCROSS	O
impact	O
site	O
,	O
however	O
,	O
the	O
presence	O
of	O
less	O
than	O
10	O
cm	O
sized	O
ice	O
fragments	O
could	O
not	O
be	O
ruled	O
out	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
January	O
,	O
2011	O
,	O
after	O
completion	O
of	O
Mini-RF	B-Algorithm
'	O
s	O
primary	O
mission	O
objectives	O
,	O
NASA	O
announced	O
that	O
the	O
Mini-RF	B-Algorithm
transmitter	O
had	O
suffered	O
a	O
critical	O
failure	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
receiver	O
continues	O
working	O
,	O
allowing	O
occasional	O
bistatic	B-Algorithm
radar	I-Algorithm
measurements	O
,	O
where	O
the	O
radar	O
signal	O
is	O
transmitted	O
from	O
the	O
Earth	O
,	O
reflected	O
off	O
the	O
Moon	O
,	O
and	O
received	O
by	O
the	O
Mini-RF	B-Algorithm
.	O
</s>
