NASA and ISRO are prepared to launch the $1.5 billion Earth observation satellite, NISAR, from India this July. The mission is expected to reshape how scientists observe our planet. NISAR, short for NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar, is scheduled to lift off towards space via the ISRO-developed GSLV Mark II rocket. The liftoff will take place from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota in July. The satellite, weighing 3 tonnes, will orbit Earth every 12 days, mapping the planet with extraordinary precision.
NASA recently announced that the satellite has arrived at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre following the completion of necessary repair works.
World’s first dual-frequency radar Earth-observing satellite
Jointly developed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and ISRO’s Space Applications Centre, NISAR is the world’s first Earth-observing satellite with dual-frequency radar. It uses L-band and S-band SAR technology to send radar pulses to the ground and analyse their return, collecting an unprecedented amount of information about our planet’s environment.
Unlike optical satellites, NISAR can see through tree canopies, sub-structures, clouds, smoke, and even vegetation. It collects images day and night, in all weather. The satellite’s scans will help track earthquakes, floods, landslides, soil moisture, glacier melt, and changes in agricultural patterns.
NISAR will acquire data over the Indian Coasts and monitor annual changes in the bathymetry along the deltaic regions. The shoreline and erosion accretion will also be monitored. The NISAR mission will further observe sea ice characteristics over the seas surrounding India’s Antarctic polar stations that can be used to detect marine oil spills and disseminate the spill location during accidental oil seepage for preventive measures.
Along with being the first satellite to carry two radars working at two different frequencies, the NISAR mission also marks the first hardware collaboration on an Earth-observing mission between the two space agencies.
What sets NISAR further apart is its inclusive open data policy. Where its high-resolution imagery and data will be made available freely to scientists, agencies, and governments across the globe.
Furthermore, NISAR’s capacity to measure ground movement of a few millimetres makes it critical for tracking tectonic movements and coastal erosion. Experts say that the data collected by NISAR will also aid in monitoring groundwater variation, forest biomass, and dam integrity, helping with climate science as well as disaster relief.
