NASA-ISRO to jointly build NISAR Earth Science Satellite

Tags: Science and Technology

In a significant event in the field of Earth Sciences, NASA and ISRO have come together to build a satellite named NISAR (NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar).

Mission Objectives of the Satellite

• Design, Develop and launch a Dual Frequency (L and S band) Radar Imaging Satellite. 

• Explore newer applications areas using L & S Band microwave data, especially in surface deformation studies, terrestrial biomass structure, and natural resource mapping. 

• monitoring and studies related to dynamics of ice-sheets, glaciers, forests, oil slick etc.

About NISAR satellite

• It is jointly developed by NASA and the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) under a partnership agreement signed in 2014.

• It is a 2,800 kg satellite that includes L-band and S-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) instruments, making it a dual frequency imaging radar satellite.

• NASA provided L-band radar, GPS, a high-capacity solid-state recorder, and a payload data subsystem to store the data.

• ISRO has provided the S-band radar, Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) launch system and the spacecraft.

• It will map the entire globe in 12 days.