NISAR - SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
News:
NASA-ISRO partnership's satellite all set to arrive in India
What's in the news?
● Jointly
developed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the
Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), an Earth-observation satellite, called NISAR (NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar), got a send-off ceremony
at the American space agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern
California on February 3.
Key takeaways:
● The
SUV-size satellite will be shipped to India in a special cargo container flight
later this month for a possible launch in 2024
from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Andhra Pradesh.
NISAR:
● NISAR
has been built by space agencies of the US
and India under a partnership agreement signed in 2014.
● The
2,800 kilograms satellite consists of both
L-band and S-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR) instruments, which makes
it a dual-frequency imaging radar
satellite.
Launch:
● NISAR
is expected to be launched in January 2024 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre into
a near-polar orbit.
● The
satellite will operate for a minimum of
three years.
● NASA
requires the L-band radar for its global science operations for at least three years.
● Meanwhile,
ISRO will utilize the S-band radar for a minimum of five years.
NASA's Contribution:
● NASA
has provided the L-band radar, GPS, a
high-capacity solid-state recorder to store data, and a payload data subsystem.
● Antenna reflector
is another important component of the satellite, made up of a gold-plated wire
mesh.
○ The
reflector will be used to focus “the radar signals emitted and received by the
upward-facing feed on the instrument structure”.
ISRO's contribution:
● ISRO
has provided the S-band radar, the GSLV
launch system and spacecraft.
Features of the Mission:
● NISAR
will observe subtle changes in Earth’s
surfaces, helping researchers better understand the causes and consequences
of such phenomena.
● It
will spot warning signs of natural disasters, such as volcanic eruptions,
earthquakes and landslides.
● The
satellite will also measure groundwater
levels, track flow rates of glaciers and ice sheets, and monitor the
planet’s forest and agricultural regions, which can improve our understanding
of carbon exchange.
● ISRO
will use NISAR for a variety of purposes including agricultural mapping, and monitoring of glaciers in the Himalayas,
landslide-prone areas and changes in the coastline.
● By
using synthetic aperture radar (SAR), NISAR will produce high-resolution images.
○ SAR
is capable of penetrating clouds and can collect data day and night regardless
of the weather conditions.
● NISAR
has a potential image of the entire
Earth in 12 days.