NASA-ISRO's NISAR, world's costliest Earth-observing satellite at $1.5 bn, enters science phase after 100 days in orbit, beaming first sharp S-Band images of Godavari Delta. Captures mangroves, farms through clouds/night for disaster alerts and climate tracking.
The NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) mission hits a historic milestone, releasing its first high-resolution images of India exactly 100 days post-launch. Orbiting at 747 km, this $1.5 billion marvel—launched July 30 via GSLV-F16 from Sriharikota—deploys NASA's largest 12m Earth-orbit antenna on a 9m boom, scanning global land/ice every 12 days with dual L/S-Band radars for cm-level change detection.
The inaugural S-Band image spotlights Andhra Pradesh's Godavari River Delta, vividly mapping mangroves, agriculture, arecanut plantations, and aquaculture ponds—proving its cloud-penetrating, night-vision prowess for dynamic landscape monitoring. Calibration used Ahmedabad corner reflectors and Amazon data, fine-tuning for agriculture, forestry, hydrology, Himalayan glaciers, and ocean studies.
Mission Marvels:
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World's first dual-frequency SAR with 12m reflector; ISRO's S-Band + NASA's L-Band for all-weather precision.
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Overcame complex 5-day antenna deployment (Aug 9-15) via ISTRAC-JPL teams.
Science Phase Power:
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Tracks ecosystems, disasters, carbon cycles; data free for global researchers.
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Indo-US partnership cements leadership in environmental intel amid climate urgency.
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NISAR revolutionizes Earth observation, turning invisible changes visible.
Sources: India Today, ISRO, Times of India, Moneycontrol