It's Kind of Crazy What This $1.5B Satellite Can Do

A new satellite developed by NASA and India is set to launch this week, promising to map Earth's surface with centimeter-level precision and offer scientists an unprecedented look at our planet's changing landscape. The $1.5 billion satellite, NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar or NISAR for short, is "one of the most expensive Earth-imaging satellites ever built," as Earth observation researcher Steve Petrie wrote at the Conversation last month. Scheduled to lift off Wednesday from India's Satish Dhawan Space Center, it's expected to circle the globe 14 times daily, surveying almost all land and ice twice every 12 days, to deliver vital data for disaster response and environmental monitoring, per UPI.

This joint mission marks a notable first: the satellite is equipped with dual radar systems, using both L-band and S-band frequencies. According to NASA, this approach allows the satellite to penetrate clouds and light rain, as well as smoke and ash, and to operate both day and night. The continuous data stream, to be supplied freely worldwide, should be a boon for monitoring regions prone to earthquakes, landslides, and volcanic eruptions; tracking glacier movement; and observing shifts in Antarctica's ice sheet. It could refine understanding of natural hazards and help authorities better prepare for and respond to disasters.

The satellite's reach also extends to monitoring infrastructure and agricultural fields, meaning it could potentially aid in crop management as well. NISAR can "estimate moisture levels in soil" and even "track subsidence of dams and map groundwater levels," Petrie noted. Management of the US side of the project falls to Caltech in Pasadena, with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory overseeing key systems, including the L-band radar and other components. Data from the mission will flow to NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland.