NASA-ISRO NISAR Mission (2025)

Mission Name: NISAR (NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar)

Launch Site: Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, India

Overview:

• NISAR is a joint Earth observation satellite mission by NASA and ISRO, aimed at providing high-resolution 3D data on Earth’s surface changes.

• First-of-its-kind dual-frequency Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) system using L-band (NASA) and S-band (ISRO) technologies.

• The satellite is designed to detect land and ice movements with centimetre-level precision.

Technical Collaboration:

• NASA Contributions:

  • L-band SAR

  • High-rate science data communication subsystem

  • GPS receivers

  • Solid-state recorder

  • Payload data subsystem

• ISRO Contributions:

  • Spacecraft bus

  • S-band radar

  • Launch vehicle and launch services

Mission Objectives:

• Monitor land deformation, ice sheet dynamics, earthquakes, volcanic activity, and natural disasters.

• Provide 12-day revisit cycles for global Earth surface coverage.

• Support disaster response with timely pre- and post-event data.

Significance :

• Enhances India’s capability in disaster monitoring, climate change research, agriculture, forestry, and urban planning.

• Strengthens India-US strategic partnership in space research.

• Example of global collaboration for sustainable development and planetary monitoring.