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NISAR Satellite

Posted on March 27, 2021 by admin1  57

In News

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) are collaborating on the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) Satellite.

About the Satellite

                                                    (Image Courtesy: Geospatial World)

  • It is currently scheduled to launch in early 2022 and to have a minimum mission lifetime of three years with consumables up to 15 years.
  • It’s an SUV-sized satellite which will be launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota, India, into a near-polar orbit.
  • Objective and Functions
    • Tracking subtle changes in the Earth’s surface, spotting warning signs of imminent volcanic eruptions, helping to monitor groundwater supplies and tracking the rate at which ice sheets are melting.
    • It will provide maps of surface soil moisture globally every 6 to 12 days at the spatial scale of individual farm fields.
  • The partnership agreement was signed between NASA and ISRO in September 2014.
    • NASA’s Contributions: It will provide a high-rate communication subsystem for science data, GPS receivers, a payload data subsystem, L-band radar and the largest reflector antenna ever launched by NASA.
    • ISRO’s Contributions: It will provide the spacecraft bus, S-band radar, the launch vehicle and associated launch services.
  • Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR)
    • It refers to a technique for producing high-resolution images that can help in collecting data day and night in any weather.
  • Significance
    • Tracking and Monitoring: The images will allow scientists to track changes in croplands, hazard sites and will help them to monitor crises such as volcanic eruptions.
    • Detailed and Broad Coverage: The images will be detailed enough to show local changes and broad enough to measure regional trends.
    • Better Understanding of Causes and Consequences: The data will allow for a better understanding of the causes and consequences of land surface changes, increasing the ability to manage resources and prepare for and cope with global change.
    • All Time Monitoring: The all weather satellite will give an unprecedented and unhindered ability to look at how Earth’s surface is changing in every kind of weather.
    • Accurate and Timely Information: Information related to soil moisture, crop classification, surface water extent/flood inundation, and crop yield is essential for anthropogenic and ecological health as well as economy.

                                                  (Image Courtesy: NASA)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

  • It is America’s civil space programme and the global leader in space exploration.
  • Functions
    • At its 20 centers and facilities across the country and the only National Laboratory in space, it studies the Solar system and everything beyond.
    • It conducts research, testing and development to advance aeronautics, including electric propulsion and supersonic flight.
    • It also develops and funds space technologies that will enable future exploration and benefit life on Earth.

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)

  • It was formed in 1969 and superseded the erstwhile Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR), set up in 1962.
  • It has become one of the six largest space agencies in the world and maintains one of the largest fleet of communication satellites (INSAT) and remote sensing (IRS) satellites.
  • It develops and delivers application specific satellite products and tools to the Nation like broadcasts, communications, weather forecasts, disaster management tools, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), cartography, navigation, telemedicine, dedicated distance education satellites being some of them.

L Band Radars

  • Operate on a wavelength of 15-30 cm and a frequency of 1-2 GHz.
  • Mostly used for clear air turbulence studies.

S Band Radars

  • Operate on a wavelength of 8-15 cm and a frequency of 2-4 GHz.
  • 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.

                                                                  (Image Courtesy: ERF)

Source: IE


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