NISAR (NASA-ISRO SAR) is a joint Earth mapping satellite project between NASA and the Indian Space Research Organization, scheduled for launch in the first quarter of 2024 and to operate for three years.
It is the first radar imaging satellite that uses two frequencies (L and S microwave bands) and enables systematic mapping of the Earth’s crust with an unprecedented level of detail.
With global coverage every 12 days, NISAR will be able to detect changes smaller than 1cm and observe processes related to natural disasters, ecosystem changes and glacier collapse.
The mission expects to make the data available to the public within one to two days, and in emergency situations, can deliver it within hours.
It will have an estimated cost of 1.5 billion dollars, being the most expensive Earth imaging satellite to date and is expected to provide valuable information to understand natural disasters, climate change and food security.
You have the url of the project at nisar.jpl.nasa.gov.
Other similar satellites
There are several NISAR-like satellites that aim to map the Earth and provide information about land surface changes and natural phenomena. They do not have the same resolution, of course, but among them we have:
– Sentinel-1: European Space Agency satellite that uses radar imagery to provide information on natural disasters, ecosystem changes and glacier dynamics.
– ALOS-2: Japanese satellite that uses radar and optical imagery to provide detailed information about the Earth’s topography and changes in the Earth’s surface.
– TerraSAR-X: German satellite that uses radar images to analyze the dynamics of glaciers, among other things.
Radarsat-2: Canadian satellite that uses radar imagery to analyze the Earth’s topography, changes in the land surface, and natural disasters.
You can see more details in the tweet from NASA.
