The launch of the NISAR satellite on July 30, 2025, marks a new era in global Earth observation. This mission joins the expertise of NASA and ISRO, setting a milestone in international scientific collaboration. NISAR stands for NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar and brings advanced technologies to track minute changes on Earth’s surface.
Orbiting the planet at an altitude of 747 kilometers in a sun-synchronous polar path, the satellite weighs about 2,393 kilograms. It carries two powerful radar instruments: NASA’s L-band and ISRO’s S-band, each designed for unique observations. The L-band radar penetrates dense forests and can track subtle ground movements, while the S-band radar provides high-resolution monitoring of surface and soil changes.
Launched using India’s GSLV-F16 rocket from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, NISAR is the first major satellite placed in such an orbit by this launcher. Its antenna reflector spans 12 meters in diameter, the largest of its kind fitted to an Earth-observing satellite, allowing coverage of a 242-kilometer-wide strip each time it passes over a region. With its advanced SweepSAR technology, NISAR delivers frequent, all-weather, day-and-night imaging capabilities, achieving resolutions down to a few meters.
The data from NISAR will be freely available to researchers, organizations, and governments, supporting studies in climate change, disaster response, land and ice deformation, and agricultural planning. In its five-year mission, NISAR will help monitor forests, glaciers, oceans, and changes caused by natural events such as earthquakes and landslides.
Following the successful launch, the satellite enters a 90-day commissioning phase to ensure all systems work correctly before starting full science operations. The NISAR mission sets a new global standard for Earth observation and highlights the benefits of international space cooperation.
