The NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) satellite is scheduled for launch on 30 July 2025 at 5:40 PM IST from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh, aboard ISRO’s GSLV-F16 rocket. The satellite, weighing 2,392 kg, will be placed into a 734 km sun-synchronous orbit (close to 743 km with 98.4° inclination), enabling it to pass over the same region at the same local time every day for consistent Earth observations.

This joint mission by NASA and ISRO represents a pioneering collaboration in Earth observation, featuring the world’s first satellite to deploy dual-frequency Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) technology, combining NASA’s L-band and ISRO’s S-band radars.

These two radar systems, integrated carefully onto a single satellite, allow it to detect Earth’s surface features with exceptional detail and precision. The L-band radar penetrates thicker vegetation and maps landscape topography and heavily forested areas, while the S-band radar excels in monitoring soil moisture, especially in polar regions.

The satellite is equipped with a large 12-meter unfurlable mesh reflector antenna, the largest of its kind launched by NASA, mounted on ISRO’s modified I3K satellite bus. It employs SweepSAR technology to capture wide-swath (242 km) and high-resolution radar images with resolutions ranging from 3 to 48 meters depending on the mode.

This capacity enables NISAR to scan the entire globe every 12 days, delivering ultra-detailed, day-and-night, all-weather observations of Earth’s surface.

NISAR’s high-precision radar can detect surface changes as small as one centimetre, making it invaluable for a wide range of scientific and practical applications. These include monitoring glacier retreat, sea ice movement, earthquakes, volcanic activity, vegetation shifts, and soil moisture. Its data will support ecosystem and agricultural assessments, disaster management (like hurricanes, floods, wildfires, and tsunamis), and coastal and maritime surveillance.

The mission is managed jointly with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Caltech, and multiple ISRO centres such as U R Rao Satellite Centre, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, and the National Remote Sensing Centre.

The project has involved over a decade of close technical cooperation between the two space agencies. NISAR is the world’s most expensive Earth observation satellite to date, valued at approximately USD 1.5 billion, with ISRO contributing around ₹469.4 crore to the mission.

All data collected by NISAR will be made freely available for research and public use, typically within one to two days after acquisition, and within hours during emergencies to aid rapid response efforts. This mission marks a significant advancement in Earth observation and international space cooperation, promising unprecedented insights into the dynamic processes shaping our planet.

Agencies