Latest news with #NISAR
Mint
7 hours ago
- Climate
- Mint
Forewarned is fore-armed: Adopt AI for better climate forecasting
For much of modern history, weather forecasting has battled public scepticism. In 19th century England, Admiral Robert FitzRoy's early forecasts were mocked as 'guesses dressed up as science" and umbrellas would come out only when sunshine was predicted. Until recently, India's own meteorological service faced similar mistrust, with people joking that IMD stood for 'It Might Drizzle.' However, this is beginning to change. India now boasts of satellite infrastructure for climate and weather monitoring that ranks among the world's most advanced. INSAT-3D, 3DR and newly launched 3DS satellites monitor the atmosphere, land and oceans. These will be complemented by NISAR, an upcoming Nasa-Isro mission, which will track ecosystem shifts, ice melt, sea levels, groundwater and natural hazards. India also has 17 earth observation (EO) satellites, including Resourcesat, Oceansat, Cartosat and Scatsat, which track land use, agriculture, forest cover, water resources and ocean conditions. Megha-Tropiques and SARAL, part of a collaborative mission with France, aim to keep tropical weather systems, sea levels and ocean circulation under watch. The National Information System for Climate and Environment Studies (NICES) is responsible for integrating satellite data to create long-term climate records and generate variables like snow cover, vegetation indices and glacial lake characteristics. These efforts support the forecasting and tracking of critical climate events. Despite such capabilities, India is at the front line of the global climate crisis, grappling with flash floods, droughts, cyclones and heatwaves. Also Read: Time for the Global South to leverage DPI for climate action With a fragile Himalayas range and a long coastline, India's geography amplifies its exposure to climate risks. A 2021 study by Council on Energy, Environment and Water revealed that over 80% of our population resides in districts acutely vulnerable to climate shocks, while much of the country lacks the adaptive capacity to withstand them. India has seen average temperatures rise, with longer and more intense heatwaves. By 2065, these could last up to 25 times longer, posing severe health and agricultural threats. Meanwhile, erratic rainfall and a surge in dry spells have pushed nearly 600 million Indians into water stress. These challenges demand that we re-assess our climate preparedness and explore technologies such as artificial intelligence to prepare better. To achieve our net-zero target for emissions by 2070, climate risks must be assessed across a range of future economic scenarios and their associated carbon footprints. Traditional climate models offer limited simulations but machine learning can vastly enrich our modelling. Also Read: How ISRO's partnership with NASA will boost India's space industry Traditional climate models rely on complex equations to simulate the planet's systems. Globally, AI is now being used in three key ways to enhance climate modelling. First, AI-based emulators like QuickClim and ACE can mimic traditional models by learning patterns of emissions, climate outcomes and their links, enabling faster and cheaper simulations. QuickClim, developed by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, used 15 emulators trained in 30 minutes each to make accurate temperature projections. ACE, developed by Allen Institute for AI, outperformed conventional atmospheric models on speed and precision. Second, foundation models like ClimaX go beyond replication to uncover new patterns in climate data, offering deeper insights into global climate dynamics using observations that go back more than a century. Also Read: Space mission Axiom 4: The universe can be a family one day Third, hybrid models blend machine learning with physics-based approaches to improve accuracy in complex areas such as cloud and snow formation. Projects like CLiMA (under Caltech, MIT and Nasa JPL), Nasa and the European Space Agency's Earth system 'digital twins' and the EU's DestinE initiative aim to create simulations to better predict climate events and minimize uncertainty. Similarly, AI is transforming weather forecasting by producing accurate predictions up to 10,000 times faster than traditional models, while reducing energy and computing costs. Trained on decades of weather data, AI models can quickly analyse complex atmospheric patterns and deliver near-real-time forecasts. Notable innovations include Google DeepMind's GraphCast, which uses historical and current data for six-hourly weather forecasts. Huawei's Pangu-Weather delivers accurate weekly forecasts within seconds by processing all weather variables. Nvidia's Earth-2 combines AI and simulation tools, such as FourCastNet, to model extreme weather events such as hurricanes. While these are encouraging developments, a key challenge in AI-based prediction remains AI's 'black box' problem, which makes it difficult to trust or fix AI tools. This has drawn the scepticism of climate scientists, who still lean towards traditional models because of the complexity of Earth's systems and uncertainty over future scenarios. Although AI-based models show promise, their ability to forecast an evolving climate scenario remains uncertain. Also Read: Space race: Is competition among Indian startups ready for lift-off? India has made significant strides in satellite technology and climate data collection, but the threats of climate change demand a more forward-looking approach. Indian research organizations and leading tech companies must step up to the task of improving the speed and accuracy of climate and weather forecasting. This is vital to our long-term climate resilience. The authors are, respectively, associate director at The Convergence Foundation, and an economist.
India Today
2 days ago
- Science
- India Today
Isro likely to launch joint Nisar mission with Nasa by end of July
The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) is on the cusp of a historic moment as it prepares to launch the Nasa-Isro Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) satellite by the end of July from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in the NISAR spacecraft and the GSLV-F16 launch vehicle are currently undergoing final checks and extensive reviews at the spaceport, in what marks the concluding phase of a mission more than a decade in the sources confirmed to that the satellite and its launch vehicle have reached Sriharikota, and the mission is entering its last leg. Nisar's mission is to provide unprecedented coverage of the planet. (Photo: Nasa) Detailed technical reviews and integration processes are underway, and the leadership is optimistic about an on-schedule liftoff before July represents the most expensive satellite project undertaken by Isro and Nasa, with a combined cost of $1.5 billion. It is the world's first Earth observation mission to utilise dual-frequency radar technology, blending Nasa's L-band and Isro's S-band Isro's Geosynchronous Launch Vehicle (GSLV) pushes this $1.5 billion mission into orbit, Nisar will unfold its 13-metre diameter radar antenna like an origami masterpiece to begin a systematic scan of Earth's entire to orbit the planet every 12 days, NISAR will offer three-dimensional, centimetre-level mapping of Earth's land and ice surfaces, providing critical data for monitoring ecosystems, natural hazards, and climate mission is to provide unprecedented coverage of the planet. For three years, it will monitor the Earth's land surface and interior for subtle changes due to earthquakes, volcanoes, and human activities; its cryosphere for unprecedented melting of polar ice sheets and glaciers caused by climate change; and its coastal and ground waters for impacts of floods and aquifer usage. A key highlight of the mission is its commitment to open science. (Photo: Isro) A key highlight of the mission is its commitment to open science: data collected by NISAR will be made freely available to researchers and governments worldwide, making it a global asset in tracking natural disasters, infrastructure changes, and environmental only the comprehensive final reviews left to complete, the anticipation surrounding the NISAR mission is building launched, NISAR will cement India's role as a frontline player in international space collaboration and Earth science advancement.- EndsMust Watch
United News of India
3 days ago
- Science
- United News of India
Indo-US joint NISAR mission likely this month end
Chennai, July 17 (UNI) The prestigious eagerly-awaited launch of NISAR mission, a Indo-US joint collaboration between NASA and ISRO, is likely to take place by the end of this month. Both the space agencies have discussed about NISAR's readiness for launch and potential opportunities for future cooperation including professional exchange in technical areas and space exploration. NASA and ISRO are collaborating on one of NASA's biggest project--the NASA-ISRO SAR Mission (NISAR), a joint Earth-observing mission. NISAR will be launch from the Second Launch Pad from the Satish Dhawan Space Center, SHAR Range in Sriharikota, into a near-polar orbit at an altitude of 747 km with an inclination of 98.4 deg. ISRO will be using its heaviest home grown rocket GSLV-MkII/LMV for the mission. Though sources said the mission is likely on July 30 or 31, the exact date was expected to be announced on July 21. According to sources in US Consulate General in Chennai NASA will host a news conference at 12 p.m. EDT (9:30 p.m. IST) on July 21, to discuss the upcoming NISAR (NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar) mission during which more details about the mission will be known. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California will stream the briefing. The NISAR Mission will measure Earth's changing ecosystems, dynamic surfaces and ice masses providing information about biomass, natural hazards, sea level rise and groundwater and will support a host of other applications. NISAR will observe Earth's land and ice-covered surfaces globally with 12-day regularity on ascending and descending passes, sampling Earth on average every 6 days for a baseline 3-year mission. NISAR will map global land biomass, the amount of organic material from plants, every 12 days. MORE UNI GV 1530
Time of India
3 days ago
- Science
- Time of India
Nasa to preview US-India radar mission: What is NISAR, when will it launch, why it matters
Nasa is preparing to unveil details of a groundbreaking Earth-observation mission developed in partnership with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). The mission, known as NISAR (NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar), is designed to offer an unparalleled three-dimensional view of the planet's surface, with applications ranging from disaster response to climate monitoring. A press conference has been scheduled for 12pm EDT on Monday, 21 July, where NASA will preview the mission's key scientific objectives and technological capabilities. The event will be streamed live by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory via X (formerly Twitter), Facebook and YouTube. The satellite itself is set to launch no earlier than late July from ISRO's Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, on India's southeastern coast. High-resolution radar to monitor a changing planet The NISAR satellite is a flagship collaboration between NASA and ISRO, equipped with dual-frequency radar instruments operating in L-band (24 cm) and S-band (9 cm). It will measure Earth's dynamic surfaces, including changes in ecosystems, ice mass loss, and the effects of natural hazards, with a spatial resolution between 3 and 10 metres depending on mode. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Earn Upto 5k Daily By This Method of Intraday Trading TradeWise Learn More Undo Orbiting at an altitude of 747 km with a 12-day repeat cycle, the satellite will observe the entire Earth's land and ice-covered surfaces every 6 days on average, ensuring high-frequency and consistent monitoring. The mission is expected to last a minimum of three years, with enough onboard consumables for up to five. According to NASA, 'NISAR will help protect communities by providing a dynamic, three-dimensional view of Earth in unprecedented detail and detecting the movement of land and ice surfaces down to the centimetre.' Real-world applications and global access to data The NISAR mission is designed not only for scientific research but also for real-world applications. Data will be freely and openly available, providing governments, researchers, and planners with critical information for water resource monitoring, infrastructure stability, sea level rise, and natural disaster preparedness. The mission's Utilisation Plan defines 'applications' as direct engagement with a broad stakeholder community. This includes supporting activities that educate users about synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data, working with end-users to develop actionable information products, and facilitating the integration of NISAR data into operational decision-making workflows. Engagement opportunities include application workshops, working groups, and early adoption programmes through a Community of Practice. Through these initiatives, the NISAR mission aims to demonstrate the broad societal value of Earth observation and support proactive planning based on reliable and regularly updated data.
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
3 days ago
- Science
- Business Standard
Nasa to preview US-India NISAR radar sat: What is it, why does it matter?
In a major step for global Earth observation, NASA is set to preview the highly anticipated NISAR mission—a landmark joint venture with ISRO—before its launch from India's Satish Dhawan Space Centre later this July. The NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) satellite will deliver the most detailed, 3D view of our planet ever captured from space. The US space agency released a statement saying it will host a news conference at 9.30 pm IST, July 21, to discuss the upcoming NISAR mission. The event will be streamed live via NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory's official social media pages like Facebook, X (formerly known as Twitter) and YouTube. NASA-ISRO NISAR radar satellite: What will it do? Equipped with cutting-edge dual-frequency radar systems—S-band from ISRO and L-band from NASA —NISAR will scan nearly every inch of Earth's land and ice surfaces twice every 12 days, tracking movements as small as a few centimetres. The mission is expected to significantly change the way scientists monitor natural disasters such as earthquakes, landslides, and volcanic activity. 'Additionally, NISAR's cloud penetrating ability will aid urgent responses to communities during weather disasters such as hurricanes, storm surge, and flooding. The detailed maps the mission creates also will provide information on both gradual and sudden changes occurring on Earth's land and ice surfaces,' NASA said in a statement. India's space prowess is on full display with its deep involvement in the NISAR mission. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has played a pivotal role, contributing not just the S-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR)—developed by the Space Applications Centre (SAC) in Ahmedabad—but also the spacecraft bus, built at U R Rao Satellite Centre in Bengaluru. The mission is a coordinated effort across ISRO's key facilities: The Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) provided the GSLV rocket that will carry NISAR to orbit. Launch operations will take place at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) in Sriharikota. Mission control and satellite tracking are managed by the ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC). And finally, the National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) will handle S-band data reception, processing, and public dissemination.
