The NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar, or NISAR, promises to be a game-changer in Earth science.
What sets NISAR apart is its ability to detect and measure changes on the Earth's surface down to fractions of an inch.
NISAR marks the first joint Earth-observing mission between the United States and India. Each country contributed a key scientific instrument enabling the satellite to scan and image the Earth's entire land and ice surface once a week.
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Using dual radar frequencies, it will produce three-dimensional, color imagery that shows how the planet is shifting. That information could be vital in regions vulnerable to natural disasters.
"In places like Texas with low elevation and nearby sea, we can measure the changes in the level of the land down to an inch, and help us understand the susceptibility to flooding due to coastal processes. It's very powerful. We can measure earthquakes, volcanoes, motions of ice sheets. Everything that's moving, we can measure down to the inch," Dr. Paul Rosen, the NISAR project scientist at NASA, said.
NISAR is poised to offer detailed insights that could improve environmental protection and planning across the globe.
The satellite is scheduled to launch later this month from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in India.
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