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Mint
9 minutes ago
- Mint
ISRO-NASA's NISAR mission to launch on July 30: 5 key things about ‘most advanced', ‘most expensive' satellite
NISAR is the first-of-its-kind joint Earth observation satellite by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). It is scheduled to launch into space at 5:40 p.m. on July 30 from Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. The ISRO has already shared a YouTube link where the launch will be live-streamed. The live streaming will begin at 5:10 p.m. NASA says it is the "most advanced Earth-observing radar satellite we've ever launched." What is NISAR? Why is it important for India? And how will it help? Here's all you need to know about the ISRO-NASA joint satellite. ISRO's GSLV-F16 – an Indian rocket – will launch NISAR, the first joint Earth observation satellite by ISRO and NASA, from Sriharikota on July 30. NISAR is short for 'NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar'. It is a unique earth observation satellite. It will observe earth with a swath of 242 km and high spatial resolution, using SweepSAR technology for the first time. The NISAR mission will have a minimum mission lifetime of three years. "It's the most advanced radar satellite ISRO and NASA have ever launched," NASA said. This powerful satellite will track changes on land and ice, from areas at risk for landslides and earthquakes to shifting glaciers and ice sheets. It will track the movement of land and ice surfaces down to a fraction of an inch, giving us key data on earthquakes, volcanoes, glaciers, and more. The satellite will further monitor soil moisture, crop growth, and drought effects to help farmers make informed decisions all season long. NISAR will scan the entire globe twice every 12 days, providing high-resolution, all-weather, day-and-night data, "sampling Earth on average every 6 days for a baseline 3-year mission." Most areas will be imaged four-six times per month, with exact repeat of the orbits at 12-day intervals. It can detect even subtle changes in Earth's surface, such as ground deformation, ice sheet shifts, and vegetation dynamics. "The mission will also support many critical applications, including sea ice monitoring, ship detection, storm tracking, soil moisture changes, mapping and monitoring of surface water resources and disaster response," the space agencies said. One of the goals of the mission is to "increase the utility, accessibility and discoverability of NISAR data by a broad community." NISAR's data can help people worldwide better manage natural resources and hazards. The mission will offer help in areas such as agriculture, preparation for, and response to disasters like hurricanes, floods, and volcanic eruptions. It will also provide information for scientists to better understand the effects and pace of climate change. "It will empower scientists, researchers and policy makers with vital incites," ISRO said. The NISAR mission will also add to "our understanding of our planet's hard outer layer, called its crust," NASA explained. "As the mission continues for years, the data will allow for better understanding of the causes and consequences of land surface changes, increasing our ability to manage resources and prepare for and cope with global change," NASA said. Besides, this mission symbolises a leap towards sustainable living and informed disaster resilience. "NISAR is not just a satellite, it's a symbol of global unity, scientific excellence and hope. It promises to safeguard out future by helping humanity live more wisely with nature," the space agencies said. "From 👨🌾 farmers and 👩🔬 scientists to 🚨 disaster responders, NISAR will empower 🌍 Earth observation like never before," ISRO said. The satellite mission also marks a new chapter in the growing collaboration between the two space agencies -- ISRO and NASA. NISAR uses a sophisticated information-processing technique known as synthetic aperture radar to produce extremely high-resolution images, NASA explains. The radar penetrates clouds and darkness, allowing NISAR to collect data day and night in any weather. Over the course of multiple orbits, the radar images will allow users to track changes in croplands and hazard sites, as well as to monitor ongoing crises such as volcanic eruptions. "The images will be detailed enough to show local changes and broad enough to measure regional trends," NASA said. NISAR has two radar instruments — an S-band system provided by ISRO and an L-band system provided by NASA — to provide high-resolution data to "help decision-makers, communities, and scientists monitor major infrastructure, agricultural fields, and movement of land and ice surfaces," NASA said. 1. First dual-band radar satellite: NISAR is the first satellite mission to collect radar data in two microwave bandwidth regions, called the L-band and the S-band, to measure changes of Earth's surface, including movements as small as centimeter. 2. First GSLV to SSO: It will be the first time that GSLV-F16 will inject a satellite into a 743 km Sun-synchronous orbit (SSO) with an inclination of 98.40 3. First ISRO-NASA EO mission: This is the first space collaboration between NASA and ISRO for an Earth Observation (EO) satellite mission. 4. World's most expensive satellite: NISAR, weighing 2392 kg, has a price tag of $1.5 billion, making it the most expensive Earth observation satellite to date, the Indian express reported. 5. Data storage and distribution: The radars will generate about 80 terabytes of data products per day over the course of NISAR's prime mission. That's roughly enough data to fill about 150 512-gigabyte hard drives each day. The information will be processed, stored, and distributed via the cloud — and accessible to all. NASA informed that all NISAR science data will be freely available and open to the public. NASA has chosen the Alaska Satellite Facility Distributed Active Archive Center (DAAC) to host the mission's data and products.
The Hindu
an hour ago
- The Hindu
NISAR Mission: Satellite will be placed in orbit by Indian rocket, says ISRO chief
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is gearing up for a major milestone with the launch of the NISAR (NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar) mission on July 30, 2025. According to Dr. V. Narayanan, Chairman of ISRO and Secretary of the Department of Space, the satellite will be placed in orbit by an Indian rocket. While speaking to reporters on Friday (July 25, 2025), Dr. Narayanan said, 'On the 30th of July, we are going to have the NISAR mission. The satellite will be placed in orbit by the Indian rocket...' ISRO said that it will launch the NISAR, the first joint Earth observation satellite by ISRO and NASA, from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh, on July 30 at 5:40 p.m. Additionally, ISRO stated that the satellite would provide high-resolution, day-and-night, all-weather data by scanning the entire world every 12 days, identifying minute variations in the Earth's surface, such as vegetation dynamics, ice sheet shifts, and ground deformation. 'The mission will support many critical applications, including sea ice monitoring, ship detection, storm tracking, soil moisture changes, surface water mapping, and disaster response. A milestone in over a decade of collaboration between ISRO & NASA/JPL,' it added. According to ISRO, the NISAR satellite, weighing 2,392 kg, will be injected into a 743 km Sun-synchronous orbit with an inclination of 98.40 degrees. Equipped with dual-frequency Synthetic Aperture Radar—NASA's L-band and ISRO's S-band—NISAR features a 12-metre unfurlable mesh reflector antenna integrated into ISRO's modified I3K satellite bus. Utilising SweepSAR technology for the first time, the satellite will offer a 242 km swath with high spatial resolution, enabling comprehensive Earth observation. 'NISAR, weighing 2392 kg, is a unique Earth observation satellite and the first satellite to observe the Earth with a dual-frequency Synthetic Aperture Radar (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. NISAR will observe Earth with a swath of 242 km and high spatial resolution, using SweepSAR technology for the first time,' ISRO stated in a press release. NISAR's ability to provide high-resolution, all-weather data every 12 days will support critical applications, from tracking climate change impacts to aiding disaster management. '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 characterisation, changes in soil moisture, mapping & monitoring of surface water resources and disaster response,' the release added.
The Print
3 hours ago
- The Print
ISRO and NASA's billion-dollar baby is ready to launch. NISAR will watch every inch of Earth
The project is significant not only because it marks the first collaboration between ISRO and NASA on this scale, but also because of the satellite's ability to scan all of Earth's land and ice-covered surfaces twice every 12 days. This will help record both large and small climatic and geographical changes over time. After a delay of over a year, the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar ( NISAR ) mission is now scheduled to launch on 30 July from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh, aboard India's heavy-lift rocket, the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle-F16 (GSLV-F16). New Delhi: The Indian Space Research Organisation and the United States' National Aeronautics and Space Administration are set to launch a first-of-its-kind Earth observation satellite, designed to survey the planet like never before. As an equal partner in NISAR's development, ISRO is consolidating India's position in the global space sector as a trusted and dependable business associate. It is for this reason that the ISRO-NASA partnered NISAR satellite is ThePrint's Newsmaker of the Week. Also read: Lift the veil, abandon Soviet-era approach. Indian science community wants ISRO to up its PR game What does NISAR promise? NISAR promises to usher in a new era of global Earth observation capabilities. The high-resolution images it provides will enable scientists to better understand the processes behind natural hazards and catastrophic events such as earthquakes, landslides, and volcanic eruptions. Its ability to penetrate cloud cover will be key in improving emergency responses during weather-related disasters like floods, storms, and hurricanes. According to NASA, the NISAR satellite will also provide crucial data on changes in ice sheets, glaciers, and sea ice, and enhance scientific understanding of how deforestation, permafrost loss, and fires affect the carbon cycle. 'The data will be accessible to all users across a range of disciplines, with potential applicability in disaster response, infrastructure monitoring and agricultural decision support,' NASA said in a mission document. Data from NISAR could change our approach to disaster preparedness and management. All data from the satellite will be available within one to two days of observation. In emergencies such as natural disasters, the turnaround time will shrink to just a few hours. NASA's Sanghamitra Dutta, the programme executive for NISAR, highlighted the massive scale of data generation. 'NISAR will capture over 4,300 GB of Earth imagery each day. You will need nearly eight 512 GB laptops to hold such a volume of data,' she said. Over its expected lifespan of more than three years, NISAR satellite will accumulate over 5,00,000 GB of data—enough to fill approximately 3,000 laptops. At a recent press conference, NASA announced that 80 organisations, both public and private, have already signed up to use NISAR data. 'Remote-sensing missions like NISAR are storytellers about how the Earth and humans interact, and how we connect with the planet,' said Paul Rosen, project scientist for NISAR. 'NISAR is a truly unique storyteller,' he added. The partnership—first conceptualised in 2007 and finally inked in 2014—is the most expensive Earth observation satellite mission ever, with a price tag of $1.5 billion. Of the total project cost, ISRO has contributed Rs 469.4 crore and will also cover the launch costs. Also read: Rakesh Sharma to Shubhanshu Shukla—India's space programme is entering a bold new era NISAR satellite—the technology NISAR is being touted as the most powerful Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellite ever developed. At the press conference, NASA revealed that the satellite will be roughly the size of a pickup truck. Its main body houses engineering systems and a first-of-its-kind dual radar payload—an L-band radar with a 10-inch wavelength, and an S-band radar, also with a 10-inch wavelength. India's contribution is significant: the S-band radar was built by the ISRO Space Applications Centre in Ahmedabad. It was shipped to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in 2021, where the L-band radar was being developed. NASA and ISRO scientists integrated the two systems between 2021 and 2022. The satellite was then sent to India in March 2023 for final preparations and launch. NISAR launch delay This 9,000-mile-long partnership between India and the US faced its share of hurdles. NISAR satellite, which took over a decade to come together, was first scheduled for launch in 2024. But technical faults led to a delay. Just weeks before the initial launch window in March-April 2024, engineers discovered a problem with the large deployable antenna. The component had to be returned to the US to protect the spacecraft's reflector—a 12-metre-wide antenna—while in its stowed configuration. 'Testing and analysis identified a potential for the reflector to experience higher-than-previously-anticipated temperatures in its stowed configuration in flight,' NASA said in a statement. To mitigate this, engineers applied a special coating to increase the antenna's reflectivity and reduce heat absorption. Although NASA resolved the issue within a few months, the wait for NISAR's launch did not end. Between October 2024 and February 2025, the launch was deemed unfeasible. During this period, the Sun's position would expose the satellite to alternating cycles of heat and shadow, potentially causing temperature fluctuations that could jeopardise the satellite's boom and radar antenna. But now, NISAR's time has finally come. The world is about to receive a treasure trove of Earth data like never before. And along with ISRO and NASA, the entire scientific community is watching with excitement. (Edited by Prashant)
