The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and NASA collaborated on the NISAR satellite, which is presently scheduled to launch in March 2025. With an anticipated total project cost of ₹5,000 crore (about $1.5 billion), this spacecraft, which stands for NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar, is billed as the most costly and sophisticated Earth observation satellite in the world.
The purpose of NISAR is to supply vital information for tracking natural disasters, climate change, and Earth’s ecosystems. Twice every 12 days, it will survey almost all land and ice surface on Earth, providing information on resource management and environmental changes. A GSLV MK-II rocket will be used to launch the satellite from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, India.
The NISAR mission was initially planned to launch in early 2024, however testing revealed technical problems that caused delays. In particular, NASA researchers found that the satellite’s 12-meter reflector antenna needed to be fixed, which meant it had to be sent back to the United States. Following the completion of these modifications, the antenna was returned to India in October 2023, where it is presently undergoing testing and final integration.
It is anticipated that the successful launch of NISAR would improve knowledge of numerous geological and ecological processes worldwide. The satellite is an essential tool for scientists researching Earth’s dynamic processes because of its sophisticated radar technology, which will enable it to function in a variety of environments, including bad weather and darkness.
