Workers put together the NISAR satellite, a joint Earth-observing mission between NASA and the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), inside a clear room at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California on February 3, 2023. – The NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar satellite will measure modifications in Earth’s floor topography and create high-resolution photographs to observe the evolution of Earth’s crust, observe the stream charges of glaciers, the dynamics of earthquakes and volcanos, learning local weather change, and modifications to croplands.
| Photo Credit: AFP
An earth-observation satellite collectively developed by NASA and ISRO that may assist research Earth’s land and ice surfaces in higher element is all set to be shipped to India later this month for a doable launch in September.
ISRO Chairman S Somanath visited NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) within the US state of California on Friday to oversee the ultimate electrical testing of the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) satellite earlier than being shipped to India.
“This mission will be a powerful demonstration of the capability of radar as a science tool and help us study Earth’s dynamic land and ice surfaces in greater detail than ever before,” Somanath mentioned on the formal send-off ceremony organised on the JPL which was attended by senior scientists from the 2 house businesses.
Later this month, the SUV-size payload will be moved right into a particular cargo container for a 14,000-kilometer flight to the U. R. Rao Satellite Centre in Bengaluru.
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman S Somanath, Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) Director Laurie Leshin, and different dignitaries from National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) headquarters together with NASA’s affiliate administrator for expertise, coverage, and technique Bhavya Lal on the send-off ceremony of NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar or an Earth science satellite ‘NISAR’, which was collectively built by NASA and ISRO, earlier than it ships out to its final stop-India, in California on Saturday.
| Photo Credit:
ANI
ISRO and NASA joined fingers in 2014 to construct the two,800 kg satellite. In March 2021, ISRO despatched its S-Band SAR payload developed in India to NASA for integration with the L-Band payload built by JPL.
“This marks an important milestone in our shared journey to better understand planet Earth and our changing climate. NISAR will provide critical information on Earth’s crust, ice sheets, and ecosystems,” JPL Director Laurie Leshin mentioned.
Somanath mentioned that the NISAR spacecraft will be built-in into the satellite bus on the U R Rao Satellite Centre for launch throughout the subsequent yr.
“This is one of the most complex satellites. The elements that are built by JPL are excellent,” Somanath mentioned.
Sripriya Ranganathan, ambassador and deputy chief of mission, Embassy of India, speaks throughout a ceremony for the NISAR satellite, a joint Earth-observing mission between NASA and the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California on February 3, 2023. – The NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar satellite will measure modifications in Earth’s floor topography and create high-resolution photographs to observe the evolution of Earth’s crust, observe the stream charges of glaciers, the dynamics of earthquakes and volcanos, research local weather change, and modifications to croplands.
| Photo Credit:
AFP
The occasion at JPL was marked by the ceremonial breaking of coconuts in entrance of a scale mannequin of the satellite by NISAR mission heads of NASA and ISRO Phil Barela and C V Shrikant respectively.
The JPL Director additionally offered the ISRO delegation with a jar of JPL fortunate peanuts to be eaten through the launch of the satellite.
NISAR will collect radar information with a drum-shaped reflector antenna virtually 12 meters in diameter. It will use a signal-processing method known as interferometric artificial aperture radar, or InSAR, to observe modifications in Earth’s land and ice surfaces down to fractions of an inch.
The satellite will assist researchers detect slow-moving variations of a land floor that may precede earthquakes, landslides, and volcanic eruptions.
Clean room employees put together the scientific core of the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) satellite inside a Spacecraft Assembly Facility clear room at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) on February 3, 2023, in Pasadena, California. The joint satellite mission between NASA and the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) will ‘measure Earth’s altering ecosystems’ together with ice sheets and glaciers, volcanoes, earthquakes, and groundwater reserves. According to NASA, ‘NISAR measurements will have a major impact on projections of climate change.’
| Photo Credit:
Getty Images by way of AFP
Data about such actions might assist communities put together for pure hazards such because the Joshimath land subsidence.
Measurements of melting sea ice and ice sheets will enhance understanding of the tempo and impacts of local weather change, together with sea stage rise.
Over the course of its three-year prime mission, the satellite will observe almost the complete planet each 12 days, making observations day and night time, in all climate circumstances.
