NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar satellite to be launched on July 30: ISRO
The GSLV-F16 rocket will inject the NISAR satellite into a 743 km Sun-synchronous orbit with an inclination of 98.40 degrees.
The NISAR satellite, weighing 2,392 kg, is a unique Earth observation satellite, and the first satellite to observe the Earth with a dual frequency Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) — NASA's L-band and ISRO's S-band — both using NASA's 12m unfurlable mesh reflector antenna, integrated to ISRO's modified I3K satellite bus, according to ISRO.
NISAR will observe Earth with a swathe of 242 km and high spatial resolution, using SweepSAR technology for the first time.
'The satellite will scan the entire globe and provide all weather, day and night data at 12-day intervals, and enable a wide range of applications. NISAR can detect even small changes in the Earth's surface, such as ground deformation, ice sheet movement, and vegetation dynamics. Further applications include sea ice classification, ship detection, shoreline monitoring, storm characterization, changes in soil moisture, mapping and monitoring of surface water resources, and disaster response,' the ISRO stated.
It further added that the NISAR launch is the result of strong technical cooperation between ISRO and the NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory technical teams for more than a decade.
Multiple ISRO centres have contributed to NISAR, including the Space Applications Centre in Ahmedabad, which is providing the mission's S-band SAR, and the U.R. Rao Satellite Centre, which is providing the spacecraft bus.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
India develops personnel sphere, completes welding on submersible after 700 trials
MATSYA-6000 NEW DELHI: In a landmark achievement for India's Deep Ocean Mission, Isro has successfully developed the personnel sphere for the submersible vessel MATSYA-6000, designed to carry humans up to 6,000 metres (6km) below the ocean surface, by completing a critical welding process after 700 weld trials. 'Samudrayaan', a project under the Deep Ocean Mission of the ministry of earth sciences (MoES), aims to strengthen India's capabilities in deep-sea exploration. The National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), under MoES, collaborated with Isro's Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) to design and fabricate the spherical crew compartment. The Deep Ocean mission will allow scientists to explore unexplored deep-sea areas, assess mineral resources like nickel, cobalt and rare earth elements, and study marine biodiversity. The mission is expected to be realised by 2026. Central to the Samudrayaan effort is the creation of a human occupied vehicle (HOV) that can withstand extreme pressure and temperature conditions on the seafloor. 'At the heart of the HOV is a titanium personnel sphere, a 2,260mm diameter enclosure with 80mm thick walls, made from a high-strength alloy. Designed by VSSC, the sphere is built to endure pressure up to 600 bar and temperatures as low as -3°C,' Isro said Wednesday. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Dolly Parton, 79, Removes Her Makeup and Stuns Everyone The Noodle Box Undo One of the biggest challenges scientists faced in creating this weld lay in the properties of titanium as a metal. While titanium is known for its strength, it can be difficult to weld. The technical challenge was developing a reliable electron beam welding process capable of fusing thick (80-102 mm) titanium plates. Isro's Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC), Bengaluru, took charge of augmenting its welding facility from a 15kW to a 40kW EBW capacity. LPSC developed the process and infrastructure for the welding process and non-destructive evaluation (NDE). While LPSC had the expertise to carry out welding up to 20mm thickness, it augmented the EBW machine from a 15kW rating to 40kW, while also making alterations to the chemical cleaning and handling equipment to accommodate the increased size and mass. Over 700 weld trials were conducted to optimise the process parameters, ensuring high quality and structural integrity. For quality assurance, Isro enhanced its X-ray radiography capability, one of the highest energy levels used in India, allowing detailed non-destructive evaluation (NDE) of the welded joints. The breakthrough came with the successful completion of the first high-penetration weld on the actual sphere hardware. This involved 80mm thick welds over a 7,100mm length, achieved in a continuous 32-minute operation, 'a national first in scale and precision' as per Isro. The milestone marks a significant leap for India's underwater exploration ambitions and brings Matsya-6000 closer to sea trials. Once complete, the vehicle will be among the very few human submersibles in the world capable of reaching such depths, opening new frontiers for deep sea science, resource exploration and technology development.


Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
IIT study challenges urban pollution assumptions
1 2 Bhubaneswar: Normally, cities are regarded as pollution hotspots, with elevated pollution levels compared to surrounding non-urban regions — a pattern commonly known as the 'urban pollution dome' or 'urban pollution island' effect. However, a recent study by IIT Bhubaneswar found that this pattern does not hold true in many northern Indian cities. "Instead of a concentrated urban pollution dome, these cities display a 'clean island' effect, or what the researchers describe as a 'punctured pollution dome', where the city centres are, unexpectedly, relatively cleaner than the heavily polluted surrounding areas," stated the study, published in the scientific journal Nature. Researchers V Vinoj, asssociate professor at the school of earth, ocean and climate sciences, IIT Bhubaneswar, and research scholar Soumya Satyakanta Sethi attributed this unexpected pattern to an 'invisible barrier' formed by city's tall buildings and uneven structures, which slows down wind. "This limits pollutant dispersion, causing pollution to accumulate within the city and form a typical urban pollution dome. However, this same barrier can also prevent polluted air from outside the city from entering. As a result, in some cases, pollution builds up in areas surrounding the city, making the city centre appear relatively cleaner," said Vinoj. Based on two decades of high-resolution aerosol data across 141 Indian cities, the study found that southern cities — less affected by pollution transported from afar — exhibit classic domes with more pollution inside. In contrast, cities in northern and northwestern India, particularly those in the Indo-Gangetic plain, experience heavy regional and long-range pollution, such as dust. There, the city's barrier blocks incoming pollutants, causing them to accumulate in surrounding non-urban areas and forming what the researchers describe as "clean air domes. " The study stated that around 57% of cities exhibited urban aerosol pollution islands, while the remaining 43% showed urban aerosol clean islands. "Delhi and Mumbai are pollution islands normally, but they become clean islands whenever high dust is transported to the surrounding areas of these cities due to various reasons," said Vinoj. Bhubaneswar, on the other hand, remains a pollution island even when high dust is transported to surrounding areas, he added. These findings challenge long-standing assumptions about urban air pollution — particularly the notion that transported aerosols simply add up over cities and uniformly degrade air quality. The study also highlights that monitoring air pollution solely at city boundaries may provide an incomplete picture, as the actual dynamics involve a complex interplay of local emissions, regional transport, microclimatic effects, and atmospheric processes. "Uncovering these hidden atmospheric dynamics is only the beginning. Achieving truly sustainable and climate-resilient cities requires a deeper, integrated understanding of how urban environments interact with atmospheric processes," the researchers concluded.


NDTV
5 hours ago
- NDTV
Asteroid Alert: NASA Tracks Airplane-Sized Space Rock As It Approaches Earth
An asteroid, named 2025 OW, is scheduled to pass Earth next week. It is estimated to be about 210 feet across, roughly the size of a large airplane. The asteroid will make its closest approach to Earth on July 28, travelling at a speed of approximately 46,908 miles per hour. It will pass our planet at a distance of around 393,000 miles. According to NASA, the asteroid poses no threat to Earth. Ian J O'Neill, who is the media relations specialist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), told ABC News, "This is very routine." "If there was a threat, you would hear from us. We would always put out alerts on our planetary defense blog." "We know exactly where it's going to be. We'll probably know where it's going to be for the next 100 years," O'Neill added. Another expert, Davide Farnocchia, an asteroid expert at NASA's Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS), told the outlet: "Close approaches happen all the time, it's just part of the fabric of the solar system." Will this asteroid be visible? Farnocchia explained that it won't be visible with binoculars. He, however, mentioned that another exciting event will come in 2029 when asteroid Apophis will approach Earth. "Apophis will come within 38,000 kilometers of Earth in April 2029, closer than our geostationary satellites," Farnocchia said. NASA is also tracking another aeroplane-sized asteroid, 2025 OX, which will fly past Earth on July 26 at a distance of 2,810,000 miles. Asteroids larger than 150 meters in diameter and coming within 7.4 million kilometres of Earth are considered potentially hazardous. Since 2025 OW is larger than the size threshold but will pass at a safe distance, it's worth monitoring. Other asteroids passing by Earth recently included 2025 MM, an airplane-sized asteroid, that passed by Earth on July 1. It measured around 120 feet wide and travelled at 23,874 miles per hour. Another asteroid named 2025 KX8, a 120-foot space rock, also flew by Earth on June 4, passing at a distance of approximately 1.99 million kilometres. An asteroid, 2025 MG1, about 130 feet wide, zoomed safely past Earth on July 12 at a distance of over 3 million kilometres.