April 01, 2023
The NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR), a joint mission between the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), USA, and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to observe Earth, was handed over to ISRO in Bengaluru, Karnataka. NISAR arrived in Bengaluru from California, USA, on a US Air Force C-17 aircraft on March 8. It weighs 2,800kgs and uses two distinct radar frequencies, L-band and S-band, to measure changes on the surface of the Earth.
NISAR will provide scientists with a huge amount of information including data on disturbances in the ecosystem, natural disasters and crop growth. It will also help to observe the effects of climate change. NISAR is expected to be launched into a near-polar orbit in 2024 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.
Did You Know?
At about USD 1.5 billion, NISAR is the most expensive Earth-imaging satellite in the world presently.
