About NISAR | UPSC Current Affairs

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Context:

NISAR is all set to be shipped to India later this month for a possible launch in September.

NISAR:

About

The NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar(NISAR) mission is a joint project between NASA and ISRO to co-develop and launch a dual-frequency synthetic aperture radar on an Earth observation satellite.
The satellite will be the first radar imagingsatellite to use dual frequencies.

Launch of the Mission

The satellite will be launched from India aboard a GSLV in Q1 of 2024.
The orbit will be a Sun-synchronous, dawn-to-dusk type. The planned mission life is three years.

Mandate

It will be used for remote sensing, to observe and understand natural processes on Earth. For example, its left-facing instruments will study the Antarctic cryosphere.
NISAR satellite, will use advanced radar imaging to map the elevation of Earth's land and ice masses 4 to 6 times a month at resolutions of 5 to 10 meters. It is designed to observe and measure some of the planet's most complex natural processes, including ecosystem disturbances, ice-sheet collapse, and natural hazards such as earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoesand landslides.
The satellite will also measure groundwater levels, track flow rates of glaciers and ice sheets, and monitor the planet’s forest and agricultural regions, which can improve our understanding of carbon exchange.
By using synthetic aperture radar (SAR), NISAR will produce high-resolution images. SAR is capable of penetrating clouds and can collect data day and night regardless of the weather conditions.
All data from NISAR would be freely available 1 to 2 days after observation and within hours in case of emergencies like natural disasters.

Terms of Agreement

Under the terms of the agreement, NASA will provide the mission's L-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR), a high-rate telecommunication subsystem for scientific data GPS receivers, a solid-state recorder, and a payload data subsystem. ISRO will provide the satellite bus, an S-band synthetic aperture radar, the launch vehicle, and associated launch services.

Significance of NISAR:

Data collected from NISAR will reveal information about the evolution and state of Earth's crust, help scientists better understand our planet's natural processes and changing climate, and aid future resource and hazard management.