Satellite NISAR's capabilities enables scientists to forecast natural catastrophes prior to their occurrence
The NISAR mission, a groundbreaking collaboration between NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), is all set to launch on July 30. This mission aims to help researchers better understand and predict natural disasters such as wildfires, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, and landslides [1][2][3].
The NISAR satellite will produce highly detailed 3D images of nearly all the Earth's land and ice surface twice every 12 days, offering unparalleled insights into subtle changes on the Earth's surface [2][3][4].
The satellite's unique radar system, consisting of L-band and S-band, is its key feature. This dual-frequency radar system enables the NISAR satellite to penetrate clouds and light rain, operating continuously and providing data that other satellites' optical sensors cannot [2][3].
The L-band radar, provided by JPL, can see through trees and the bare surface of the Earth, while the S-band radar, provided by ISRO, sees vegetation and surface features better. This combination allows NISAR to monitor changes in moisture, vegetation conditions, and surface features with remarkable accuracy [1][2][3].
NISAR's radar can track changes that may signal increased fire risk, enabling earlier warnings for wildfires. It also monitors land movement around thousands of volcanoes to detect deformation that may precede eruptions [1].
By mapping fault zones in detail, NISAR distinguishes areas slowly slipping without quakes from locked segments potentially storing energy for future earthquakes. The satellite also detects even subtle surface shifts that may indicate destabilizing slopes, aiding landslide risk assessment [3].
Additional applications include monitoring melting glaciers and ice sheets, tracking ecosystem disturbances, and assessing infrastructure like levees and dams for damage risks related to ground movement [1][2][3].
The NISAR mission will enable climate researchers to monitor melting glaciers and ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica with more precision [1]. The mission will be lifted off by an ISRO GSLV-F16 rocket from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in India.
The NISAR satellite is capable of measuring small changes (less than half an inch) on the Earth's surface and will collect enough data to fill about 150 512-gigabyte hard drives each day. The information collected by NISAR will be made available free of charge to scientists and anyone else interested in studying it [2][3][4].
This is the first time NASA and ISRO have collaborated on a project of this kind, marking a significant step forward in international space cooperation [5]. The NISAR mission is scheduled to last three years [6].
[1] https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/nisar/main/index.html [2] https://www.isro.gov.in/nisar.aspx [3] https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/nisar/ [4] https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nisar-mission-to-monitor-earth-changes-scheduled-for-july-launch [5] https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nisar-mission-to-monitor-earth-changes-scheduled-for-july-launch [6] https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/nisar/mission-overview/
- The NISAR mission, a joint project between NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), aims to utilize science and technology to better understand climate-change, health risks such as natural disasters, and environmental-science issues like wildfires, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, and landslides.
- The NISAR satellite, scheduled to launch on July 30, will provide unparalleled insights into climate-change, as it can monitor melting glaciers and ice sheets with remarkable accuracy and precision, particularly in Greenland and Antarctica.
- The NISAR satellite's unique radar system, consisting of L-band and S-band, will produce highly detailed 3D images of the Earth's surface twice every 12 days, offering valuable data for space-and-astronomy researchers, climate scientists, and international organizations working on environmental-science, health, and climate-change issues.
- By tracking changes on the Earth's surface, the NISAR satellite will aid in the early detection of factors that may increase fire risk, assisting in the improvement of wildfire preparedness and response strategies, which have significant implications for public health and safety.
- The first-of-its-kind international collaboration between NASA and ISRO marks a significant stride in the field of international space cooperation, demonstrating the potential for such ventures to contribute to solving global challenges, such as climate-change, environmental degradation, and health risk reduction.
