NASA-ISRO's NISAR Satellite, World's Most Powerful Earth Navigation Radar, Launched From Sriharikota

Science: ISRO-NASA co-launched Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) mission. A landmark collaboration between the United States and India, designed to revolutionise how we monitor and understand our planet. 

The NISAR mission satellite was launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota. It lifted off aboard the GSLV Mk II rocket at 5:40 PM IST on July 30, 2025.

NISAR Mission Overview

1. Dual-band SAR to combine L-band (NASA) and S-band (ISRO) radars for deep and surface-level imaging.
2. SweepSAR Technology to enables high-resolution, wide-swath imaging, ideal for tracking dynamic Earth processes.
3. Global coverage that scans land, ice, and selected ocean surfaces every 12 days, with revisit times as short as 6 days in some regions.

NISAR's Objectives
NISAR will provide critical insights into, land & ice deformation. It will detect millimeter-scale shifts due to earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides, and subsidence.

NISAR satellite will monitor ecosystem that will track forest biomass, wetland changes, and crop growth cycles.

The satellite will help in mapping ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica, monitoring sea ice and mountain glaciers. 

Scientists will also observes aquifer depletion, hydrocarbon reservoir shifts, and urban subsidence.

NASA–ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) mission costs around $1.5 billion (₹13,000 crore), making it the most expensive Earth observation satellite ever built.

First Of Its Kind

NISAR, a first-of-its-kind collaboration between NASA and ISRO that will help in disaster management. Satellite will assist in early detection of seismic activity, landslides, and infrastructure risks.

Data collected by NISAR will play a crucial role across diverse fields from advancing climate research by monitoring glacial retreat, rising sea levels, and enhancing agriculture through insights into crop health, soil moisture, and land use dynamics.

India-US Collaboration
NISAR mission symbolises a powerful scientific amalgamation between two strong nations. The mission will ease in monitoring near real-time Earth data, empowering researchers, policymakers, and disaster relief agencies worldwide.