The NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) mission is a joint project between NASA and

ISRO The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO; ) is the national space agency of India, headquartered in Bengaluru. It operates under the Department of Space (DOS) which is directly overseen by the Prime Minister of India, while the Chairman ...

to co-develop and launch a dual-frequency synthetic aperture radar on an

Earth observation satellite An Earth observation satellite or Earth remote sensing satellite is a satellite used or designed for Earth observation (EO) from orbit, including spy satellites and similar ones intended for non-military uses such as environmental monitoring, me ...

. The satellite will be the first radar imaging satellite to use dual frequencies. It will be used for remote sensing, to observe and understand natural processes on Earth. For example, its left-facing instruments will study the

Antarctic The Antarctic ( or , American English also or ; commonly ) is a polar region around Earth's South Pole, opposite the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antarctic comprises the continent of Antarctica, the Kerguelen Plateau and other ...

cryosphere. With a total cost estimated at US$1.5 billion, NISAR is likely to be the world's most expensive Earth-imaging satellite.

Overview

The NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar, or NISAR satellite, will use advanced radar imaging to map the elevation of Earth's land and ice masses 4 to 6 times a month at resolutions of 5 to 10 meters. It is designed to observe and measure some of the planet's most complex natural processes, including ecosystem disturbances, ice-sheet collapse, and natural hazards such as earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes and

landslide Landslides, also known as landslips, are several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, deep-seated grade (slope), slope failures, mudflows, and debris flows. Landslides occur in a variety of ...

s. Under the terms of the agreement, NASA will provide the mission's L-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR), a high-rate telecommunication subsystem for scientific data GPS receivers, a solid-state recorder, and a payload data subsystem. ISRO will provide the satellite bus, an

S-band The S band is a designation by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) for a part of the microwave band of the electromagnetic spectrum covering frequencies from 2 to 4 gigahertz (GHz). Thus it crosses the conventional ...

synthetic aperture radar, the launch vehicle, and associated launch services. All data from NISAR would be freely available 1 to 2 days after observation and within hours in case of emergencies like natural disasters. Data collected from NISAR will reveal information about the evolution and state of

Earth's crust Earth's crust is Earth's thin outer shell of rock, referring to less than 1% of Earth's radius and volume. It is the top component of the lithosphere, a division of Earth's layers that includes the crust and the upper part of the mantle. The ...

, help scientists better understand our planet's natural processes and changing climate, and aid future resource and hazard management. The mission is a partnership between NASA and

. The satellite will be three-axis stabilized. It will use a deployable mesh antenna and will operate on both the L- and S- microwave bands. The aperture mesh reflector (antenna) will be supplied by Astro Aerospace, a Northrop Grumman company. The satellite will be launched from India aboard a GSLV Mk II in early 2024. The orbit will be a Sun-synchronous, dawn-to-dusk type. The planned mission life is three years. The project has passed the first stage of the design validation phase and has been reviewed and approved by NASA. ISRO's share of the project cost is about , and NASA's share is about US$808 million.

Payload

* L-band (1.25 GHz; 24 cm wavelength ) polarimetric SAR, to be produced by NASA. *

(3.20 GHz; 9.3 cm wavelength ) polarimetric SAR, to be produced by ISRO.

References

{{Future spaceflights ISRO satellites NASA satellites India–United States relations 2024 in spaceflight Synthetic aperture radar satellites

Overview

Payload

See also

References