NASA and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) are set to launch the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) satellite in the first quarter of 2024. A few tests, such as those related to vibration, will be conducted before NISAR is launched. NASA’s NISAR Project Manager Phil Barela said during a media interaction in Bengaluru that he is expecting the launch of NISAR no earlier than January 2024, news agency PTI reported.
NISAR will be launched aboard ISRO’s Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. NISAR has a planned duration of three years.
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What is NISAR?
NISAR is an Earth observing satellite that plans to analyse and survey all of Earth’s lands and ice-covered surfaces every 12 days. However, there will be a 90-day satellite commissioning period in the beginning. This means that the satellite will become operational 90 days after launch.
NISAR will give the world an unprecedented video of Earth by observing Earth’s dynamic surface and interior, Earth’s cold regions, terrestrial ecosystems, and water.
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With the help of NISAR’s data, people worldwide can better manage natural resources and hazards, and scientists will obtain information to better understand the effects and pace of climate change, according to NASA. The world will also be able to better understand Earth’s crust.
It is important to measure Earth’s changing ecosystems, ice masses, and dynamic surfaces because this will provide information about biomass, sea level rise, natural hazards, and groundwater, all of which may help evade certain disasters, or keep vulnerable regions prepared.
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Where NISAR will be placed, and how it will orbit Earth
The orbit in which NISAR will be placed is 747 kilometres above Earth’s sea level, and the inclination is 98.4 degrees. The time of nodal crossing is 6 am and 6 pm. In planetary science, nodes are points where an orbit crosses a reference point, which could be the ecliptic or the celestial equator. The ecliptic is the great circle of the celestial sphere on which the Sun appears to move among the stars. It can also be defined as the projection of Earth’s orbit around the Sun on the celestial sphere, according to Britannica.
When an orbiting body crosses the reference plane while it is going north, the node is called the ascending node. When the orbiting body crosses the reference plane while it is going south, the node is called the descending node.
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Every 12 days, there will be one ascending node, and one descending node for NISAR.
NISAR is a unique mission because it will collect radar data in two microwave bandwidth regions. These are the L-band and the S-band. This will allow NISAR to measure changes on the surface of the planet, including movements as small as a centimetre.
NASA has provided the L-band SAR payload, and ISRO has contributed the S-band SAR payload.
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What are NISAR’s objectives, and why the satellite is important
Earth’s land and ice surface are constantly interacting with the planet’s interior, oceans, and atmosphere. Due to interior forces, plate tectonics deform the surface. This results in earthquakes, volcanoes, mountain building, and erosion. In several instances, these events damage the Earth’s surface and are violent.
The global distribution and structure of terrestrial ecosystems, on which life depends, are modified due to human and natural forces. As a result, steep reductions in species diversity occur. This endangers sustainability, alters the global carbon cycle, and affects climate.
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Ice sheets, sea ice and glaciers are changing dramatically due to climate effects. The melt rates of ice have increased, resulting in sea level rise.
NISAR will study these climate effects. The science objectives of NISAR are determining the likelihood of earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, landslides, and land subsidence, understanding the dynamics of carbon storage and uptake in agricultural, wetland, and permafrost systems, and understanding the response of ice sheets to climate change, the interaction of sea ice and climate, and impacts in sea level rise worldwide.
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Therefore, NISAR will study ecosystem disturbances, ice sheet collapse and natural hazards such as earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunamis, and landslides, and with the help of lower frequency bands, the satellite will be able to precisely characterise vegetation, which is important to estimate the global carbon stock, and estimate carbon fluxes from vegetation, according to ISRO.
NISAR will also study the land beneath tree canopy, and sub-surface features.
NISAR will determine Earth change in three disciplines: ecosystems, deformation, and cryosphere sciences. This means that NISAR will study vegetation and the carbon cycle; perform solid Earth studies; and understand climatic drivers and effects on sea level, respectively, according to ISRO.
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How NISAR will work
NISAR’s information-processing technique is called synthetic aperture radar. This is a type of active data collection where a sensor produces its own energy, and then records the amount of that energy reflected back after interacting with the Earth, according to NASA.
Using this technique, NISAR will produce extremely high-resolution images. The energy produced will penetrate through clouds and darkness, which will enable the satellite to collect data day and night, in any weather.
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The width of the strip of data collected along the length of the orbit track, or the imaging swath of NISAR, is more than 240 kilometres. As a result, NISAR will be able to image the entire Earth in 12 days.
By analysing the radar images, scientists can track changes in croplands and hazard sites, and monitor ongoing crises such as volcanic eruptions. With the help of the images, one can observe local changes and measure regional trends allowing a better understanding of the causes and consequences of land surface changes, and increase the world’s ability to manage resources to cope with global warming and climate change.
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Shambhu Kumar is a science communicator, making complex scientific topics accessible to all. His articles explore breakthroughs in various scientific disciplines, from space exploration to cutting-edge research.
