NISAR Mission: A Landmark India-US Collaboration for Earth Observation
UPSC Relevance
Prelims: Science and Technology (Space Technology, Satellites, Remote Sensing - SAR, Radar Bands), Environment & Geography (Earth Observation applications), International Relations (India-US space cooperation).
Mains:
GS Paper 3: Science and Technology- developments and their applications and effects in everyday life; Achievements of Indians in science & technology; Awareness in the fields of Space; Disaster and disaster management.
GS Paper 2: Bilateral agreements involving India (India-US cooperation).
Key Highlights from the News
NASA and ISRO jointly built earth observation satellite NISAR (NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar) will be launched on July 30.
The launch will be from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota using a GSLV Mk-II rocket.
This is the world's first satellite to use dual-band radar with two different frequencies of Synthetic Aperture Radar: NASA's L-band and ISRO's S-band.
It will be placed in a sun-synchronous polar orbit at an altitude of 747 kilometers.
It can scan the entire world in 12-day intervals and provide data day and night, in all weather conditions.
It will help in detailed study of earthquakes, volcanoes, ecosystems, ice sheets, agricultural lands, floods, and landslides.
During disaster response, it can provide damage maps within five hours.
Data from this mission will be freely available to all.
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