NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR):

NISAR (NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar) is a joint Earth-observing satellite mission between NASA (United States) and ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation).

• It’s the first satellite mission to use dual-frequency synthetic aperture radar (SAR), employing both L-band (from NASA’s JPL) and S-band (from ISRO) radar systems to measure changes with high precision.

• This dual-frequency capability allows NISAR to penetrate clouds, dense vegetation, and operate day and night, providing high-resolution images of the Earth’s surface regardless of weather conditions.
• The NISAR launched from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in India, using ISRO’s GSLV-F16 rocket.
• Orbit the Earth at an altitude of 747 km.
• It will be in a sun-synchronous orbit .
•  This orbit allows NISAR to scan the same region of the Earth every 12 days over its three-year mission life.

Objectives:

• Monitor Earth’s Surface Changes: Including ice sheets, glaciers, volcanoes, landslides, and tectonic shifts.
• Disaster Response: Help in tracking and responding to natural disasters like earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, and landslides.
• Agriculture & Ecosystems: Track crop growth, forest biomass, and other ecological processes.
• Climate Change: Provide key data on how Earth’s surface is changing due to climate impacts.