NISAR – UPSC Prelims

NISAR stands for NASA ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar Mission
This satellite will be able to detect the earth’s surface movement as small as 0.4 inches over an area.
It will be a three-year mission. It will scan the globe including Earth’s land, ice sheets, and sea ice, every 12 days during its mission.
Slated to launched in 2022
NISAR is a dual frequency (L & S Band) Radar Imaging Satellite. It will be the first radar imaging satellite to use dual frequency.
Will be launched in a Sun Synchronous Low -Earth
It is designed to observe and take measurements of some of the planet’s most complex processes, including ecosystem disturbances, ice-sheet collapse, and natural hazards such as earth quakes, tsunamis, volcanoes and landslides.
The satellite is likely to be launched from India aboard an Indian launch vehicle.
Applications:
- NISAR would provide info about a place more frequently. For Ex. If the present satellite take 23 to 25 days to revisit a particular spot and give the next round of info about it, NISAR would provide the repeat info in two to five days.
Objectives of the Mission: The primary goals of the mission includes:
- 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.