NISAR Satellite To Observe Earth Like Never Before, Says NASA As India Readies For Launch
Fitted with dual-frequency radar and the largest antenna ever sent into space, NISAR stands as the most costly Earth-observing satellite constructed to date, with an estimated value of $1.5 billion.
The eagerly awaited NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) project is among the most significant Indo-US satellite collaborations. Scheduled for 5:40 pm on July 30, India’s most powerful launch vehicle, the GSLV, will launch from Sriharikota, carrying the most advanced radar satellite developed so far. Weighing 2393 kg, the satellite—created with a budget of $1.5 billion—is the result of over ten years of effort by scientists from both NASA and ISRO, who continued through the COVID-19 pandemic to see the mission to completion.
“Everything is looking great. The rocket is ready. Weather conditions are favorable. We’re all set,” said Phil Barela, NISAR Project Manager at Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), during a pre-launch press conference held 48 hours ahead of liftoff. A team of NASA-JPL researchers is currently present in India, collaborating closely with ISRO experts as preparations for the high-profile mission continue.
NISAR is set to deliver three-dimensional global imagery at unmatched resolution, capturing almost the entire Earth’s landmass and ice sheets twice within every 12-day window. It will track **minute changes—as small as one centimeter—**across terrain, offering more precise data than any of NASA’s previous Earth observation satellites.
“We already operate more than 24 missions monitoring our planet, but NISAR is unique. It will revolutionize our knowledge base, with its ability to detect centimeter-level shifts—regardless of clouds or weather,” stated Karen St Germain, NASA’s Director of Earth Sciences, on Monday. “This partnership has brought India and the US together in a way that enables us to examine Earth in a way we’ve never done before.”
The satellite is expected to deliver a comprehensive timeline of changes in Earth’s terrain and oceans, providing crucial insights for climate research. It will assist scientists in recognizing early signs of natural disasters like earthquakes, landslides, and volcanic activity, improving emergency preparedness and alerts.
Estimated at $1.5 billion, with NASA funding approximately $1.2 billion, NISAR ranks among the costliest Earth-surveillance satellites ever made. NASA contributed the L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar, a high-speed data communication system, GPS modules, and a 12-meter deployable antenna. ISRO, on its part, supplied the S-band SAR payload, the spacecraft body, the GSLV launch vehicle, and all launch-related services.
The satellite will transmit microwave pulses to Earth’s surface and record the reflected signals via its 12-meter radar antenna. This will result in nearly 80 terabytes of data output per day during the mission’s core phase. The data will be processed, stored, and disseminated via cloud-based platforms, with free public access.
“Any ground movement—even by just a few millimeters—will be detected by NISAR. No other satellite currently in orbit can match this level of precision or revisit rate,” explained Gerald Bawden, NISAR’s Program Scientist at NASA.
