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Scientists will soon have spaceborne tools to study environmental changes at very high resolution. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory is holding a Q&A session session We will meet today (February 3) at 5 PM ET NISAR (NASA-ISRO SAR) is an earth mapping satellite built in partnership with the Indian Space Research Organization. Although his launch from India won’t happen until early 2024 and will be operational for three years, it contains groundbreaking technologies that will help us understand our planet and deal with natural disasters.
NISAR is the first radar imaging satellite to use dual frequencies (L and S microwave bands). This allows us to systematically map the Earth’s crust at a very detailed level, detecting changes less than 1 cm (0.4 inches) wide. This will enable NISAR to observe even the subtle nuances of disasters such as earthquakes and tsunamis. It also helps monitor long-term processes such as crustal evolution, ecosystem collapse, and ice sheet collapse.
See NISAR @NASAJPLThe clean room of is today at 5:00 PM (UTC 2200). Scheduled to launch from India in 2024, it will measure movements on the Earth’s surface to provide information on trends impacting global challenges such as food security. https://t.co/6Hi8AyIQ1D
—NASA (@NASA) February 3, 2023
Access to data also plays an important role. NISAR covers the world every 12 days of his, making time-based imagery more practical. The mission team hopes to have the data available to the public in a day or two, but in an emergency, the data can be delivered within hours. Anyone who wants to parse the information can use it.
With an estimated price tag of $1.5 billion, NISAR is expected to be the most expensive Earth-imaging satellite ever. However, the investment may be worth it. Satellite data could help governments respond and prepare for natural disasters and improve humanity’s understanding of climate change and threats to food security.
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