NISAR Satellite Mission: World’s First Twin Radar SAR Mission

NISAR Satellite Mission:

NISAR is a joint Earth-observing mission by NASA and ISRO. The NISAR Satellite Mission aims at co-developing a dual-frequency Synthetic Aperture Radar on an Earth observation satellite. The NASA-ISRO SAR mission will observe Earth and measure its changing ecosystem and masses globally. It is the world’s most expensive imaging-satellite and the two space agencies intend to launch the satellite by 2022. India and the US have signed an agreement to jointly develop the world’s first earth observation satellite with two different radars that can produce high-resolution images.ISRO now launches the satellites for other countries also including the US. NISAR Satellite Mission will add one more feather to the ISRO’s cap.The NISAR Satellite mission will observe Earth and measure its changing ecosystem and masses globally.NISAR Satellite Mission is the world’s most expensive imaging-satellite and the two space agencies intend to launch the satellite by 2022.

NISAR Satellite Mission Characteristics

Mission Name	NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR)
Mission Duration	3 Years
Launch Date	2022
Launch Site	Satish Dhawan Space Center
Satellite Orbit Altitude	747 km
Satellite Operator	NASA & ISRO
Rocket	GSLV Mk. II
Aim of the Mission	Observing Earth’s changing Ecosystem and masses
Total Cost	US$1.5 billion

NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar(NISAR)

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)  has achieved another milestone by making the S-Band  Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) and shipping it to NASA for integration with the L-band payload being developed by the NASA Space Agency. After the integration of two radars is done, it will be sent to ISRO, where its other parts will be built. NISAR will be put into orbit in 2022 by Isro’s Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota launchpad. NASA providing the mission’s L-band synthetic aperture radar, a high-rate communication subsystem for science data, GPS receivers, a solid-state recorder and payload data subsystem. ISRO is providing the spacecraft bus, the S-band radar, the launch vehicle and associated launch services.

Applications of NISAR

• It is a dual-frequency Radar imaging satellite and is using both L-Brand and S-Brand Radar frequencies. The S-Brand Radar is being built by ISRO and the L-Brand Radar is being built by NASA.
• Collecting data throughout day and night, and in all weather including the cloudy days.
• Making global measurements of the causes and consequences of land surface changes. This includes:
• Imbalance in the Ecosystem.
• Natural Hazards.
• Ice Sheet Collapse.
• Agricultural and Forest Biomass.
• Soil Moisture Estimation.
• Effects of Climate change.
• Helps in understanding the planet’s Outer surface(crust).
• Helps to study and measure  ice masses like Himalaysn glaciers, sea-level rise and ground water level.

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