Hyderabad: The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) have announced an update regarding the launch of the NISAR satellite-- their first hardware collaboration on an Earth-observation mission. Short for NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar, NISAR is being prepared for a likely launch date in March 2025.
NASA is calling NISAR a uniquely powerful and trailblazing satellite that will offer measurements of Earth's evolving surface, including changes in ice sheets and glaciers, wetlands and forests, and land around volcanoes and earthquake faults.
Using the massive reflector to transmit and receive microwave signals to and from Earth's surface, NISAR will scan nearly all of Earth’s land and ice surfaces twice every 12 days to measure changes in the planet’s surface, including its ice sheets, glaciers, and sea ice.
NASA explained that the mission would capture changes in forest and wetland ecosystems, as well as movements and deformations of the planet's crust, such as earthquakes, landslides, and volcanic activity. The organisation highlighted that the global and rapid coverage provided by NISAR would offer unprecedented opportunities for disaster response, producing data to assist in mitigating and assessing damage, with observations available before and after disasters within short time frames.
NASA has contributed a 39-foot (12-meter) drum-shaped reflector to the joint NISAR mission. This reflector focuses microwave signals to and from Earth, allowing NISAR to gather scientific data. Before being transported to India on October 15, the reflector was at a facility in California. Engineers there applied reflective tape and took other steps to manage temperature increases, ensuring the reflector could deploy properly from its stowed configuration before starting its scientific operations.
Upon its arrival in Bengaluru on a NASA C-130 cargo plane, the reflector was taken to the ISRO Spacecraft Integration and Test Establishment for reintegration with the NISAR spacecraft for further testing. NASA and ISRO will work together to set an official launch readiness date.
Notably, the NISAR satellite will launch from Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) in Sriharikota, India.
