New Delhi: The NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) satellite has relayed back preliminary images of the planets surface, providing scientists with an idea of the capabilities of the most powerful radar satellite for Earth observation ever deployed. The images reveal the level of detail with which the satellite can monitor the Earth, providing decision-makers with actionable insights in disaster response, infrastructure monitoring and agriculture management. One of the released images is of the region adjacent to the Forest River in North Dakota, where a the water is winding through agricultural land. Another image is of the Mount Desert Island in Maine, with the magenta indicating bare surfaces and the green indicating forest cover.
Mount Desert Island in Maine. (Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech).
NASA Acting Administrator Sean Duffy said, “Launched under President Trump in conjunction with India, NISAR’s first images are a testament to what can be achieved when we unite around a shared vision of innovation and discovery. This is only the beginning. NASA will continue to build upon the incredible scientific advancements of the past and present as we pursue our goal to maintain our nation’s space dominance through Gold Standard Science.” The mission has been in development for over ten years, with NASA initially approaching ISRO for a parasitic collaboration, just using our ‘cheap’ rocket and satellite, but ISRO scientists negotiated a more equitable partnership.
A unique collaboration to monitor health of planet
The NISAR satellite is the first collaboration of its kind between NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California and ISRO’s Space Applications Centre in Ahmedabad. NASA has provided the radar reflector antenna, the boom for the reflector antenna, an engineering payload and the L-band SAR. ISRO has provided the spacecraft bus, solar arrays, an S-band SAR and the launch vehicle itself. The GSLV-F16 rocket successfully injected the NISAR satellite into its intended orbit on 31 July. The spacecraft is undergoing preliminary checks and is on track for commencing regular science operations from November.