THE PURPOSE OF THE PROPOSED PROJECT IS TO DETERMINE THE SUITABILITY OF USING A VERY LARGE RADAR DISHAS AN OPTICAL TRANSMITTER/RECEIVER LENS. THE PROJECT WILL MATHEMATICALLY MODEL THE PHYSICALPARAMETERS OF A RADAR ANTENNA DISH EXPERIMENTALLY MEASURE THE STRUCTURE OF THE DISH AND THE OPTICALPROPERTIES OF THE DISH. THE MATHEMATICAL MODELS AND THE EXPERIMENTAL DATA WILL BE USED TO ASCERTAINTHE SUITABILITY OF USING A MICROWAVE RADAR DISH AS AN OPTICAL ELEMENT IN ULTIMATELY AN OPTICAL LASERCOMMUNICATION LINK TO MARS.