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NISAR Satellite
Context:
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) are set to launch the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) satellite in early 2025.
Mission Overview:
- NISAR is a historic US-Indian collaboration, with Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) leading the US side and ISRO handling the spacecraft bus and launch services.
- The satellite will be launched in early 2025 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, India, using ISRO’s Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark II.
- This groundbreaking Earth-observation mission aims to monitor Earth’s surface changes with unprecedented precision, enhancing our ability to prepare for natural disasters and manage environmental changes.
Key Features:
- Advanced Radar Technology: NISAR will be equipped with sophisticated L-band and S-band radar systems. The L-band radar, provided by NASA, can penetrate dense vegetation to detect small surface movements, while ISRO’s S-band radar enhances image resolution1.
- High-Frequency Monitoring: The satellite will scan most of Earth’s land and ice-covered areas twice every 12 days, providing consistent, high-resolution data.
- Operational Independence: NISAR will operate continuously, providing data regardless of time of day or weather conditions.
Applications and Benefits:
- Disaster Preparedness: By precisely tracking surface changes, NISAR will help monitor regions prone to earthquakes, landslides, and volcanic activity. This data will be crucial for early warning systems and disaster response planning.
- It will help identify areas prone to seismic activity, particularly in high-risk regions such as California and the Himalayas.
- Environmental Monitoring: The satellite will track changes in vegetation, ice sheets, glaciers, and sea ice, providing valuable insights into climate change and ecosystem dynamics.
- Infrastructure Monitoring: NISAR’s ability to detect subtle ground movements will aid in assessing the integrity of critical infrastructure such as dams, levees, and aqueducts.
- Post-disaster, the satellite’s data can assist in identifying compromised structures quickly, particularly in regions like California’s Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta.
