NASA and the Indian Space Research Organisation have set the launch readiness date for the NISAR (NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar) mission for no earlier than July 30, 2025.
The Earth-observing satellite, which will be the first to carry L- and S-band radars, is set to lift off aboard an ISRO Geosynchronous Launch Vehicle from ISRO’s Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota on India’s southeastern coast.
NISAR will scan nearly all of Earth’s land and ice surfaces twice every 12 days. The mission will measure changes in the planet’s terrestrial ecosystems; growth and retreat of its ice sheets, glaciers and sea ice; and tectonic deformation of its crust. The data will be accessible to all users across a range of disciplines, with potential applicability in disaster response, infrastructure monitoring and agricultural decision support.
Image Credit: ISRO