The main goal of this research is to design, fabricate, and test deployable VHF antennas for 6U Cubesat platforms to enable validation of root zone soil moisture (RZSM) estimation algorithms for signal of opportunity (SoOp) remote sensing over the 240-270 MHz frequency band. The proposed work provides a strong foundation for establishing a technology development path for maturing a truly global direct surface soil moisture (SM) and RZSM measurement system (Figure 1) over a variety of land

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... with limited density restrictions. In SoOp methodology, signals transmitted by already existing transmitters (known as transmitters of opportunity, in this case the Military Satellite Communication (MilSatCom) System's UHF Follow-On program) are utilized to measure properties of reflecting targets by recording reflected signals using a simple passive microwave receiver. Objectives (1) To develop and test a deployable VHF (240-270 MHz) antenna technology for SoOp receivers for 6U Cubesat platforms; (2) to perform measurement of SM and RZSM using the proposed antennas deployed on a ground-based SMAP simulator boom truck; and finally (3) to develop and validate the RZSM and SM estimation algorithms from the measured data (where RZSM is defined as the