Nisar: Joint Earth Observing Mission of NASA and Isro

NASA and ISRO are collaborating on developing an SUV-sized satellite called NISAR, which will detect movements of the planet’s surface as small as 0.4 inches over areas about half the size of a tennis court.
The satellite will be launched in 2022 from the Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota (Andhra Pradesh) into a near-polar orbit.
The Name ‘NISAR’: The name NISAR is short for NASA-ISRO-SAR.
SAR here refers to the Synthetic Aperture Radar that NASA will use to measure changes in the surface of the Earth.
It refers to a technique for producing high-resolution images. Because of the precision, the radar can penetrate clouds and darkness, which means that it can collect data day and night in any weather.
Function: It will scan the globe every 12 days over the course of its three-year mission of imaging the Earth’s land, ice sheets and sea ice to give an unprecedented view of the planet.

Role of NASA & Role of ISRO

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA – space agency of the USA) will provide one of the radars for the satellite, a high-rate communication subsystem for science data, GPS receivers and a payload data subsystem.
NISAR will be equipped with the largest reflector antenna ever launched by NASA.
Indian Space and Research Organisation (ISRO) will provide the spacecraft bus, the second type of radar (called the S-band radar), the launch vehicle and associated launch services.

Primary Goals:

Expected Benefits:

NISAR’s data can help people worldwide better manage natural resources and hazards, as well as providing information for scientists to better understand the effects and pace of climate change.
The images will be detailed enough to show local changes and broad enough to measure regional trends.
As the mission continues for years, the data will allow for better understanding of the causes and consequences of land surface changes.
It will also add to our understanding of our planet’s hard outer layer, called its crust.
S-Band Radar
S band radars operate on a wavelength of 8-15 cm and a frequency of 2-4 GHz.
Because of the wavelength and frequency, S-band radars are not easily attenuated. This makes them useful for near and far range weather observation.
The drawback to this band of radar is that it requires a large antenna dish and a large motor to power it. It is not uncommon for a S-band dish to exceed 25 feet in size.

SOURCE: THE HINDU,THE ECONOMIC TIMES,MINT

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