The upcoming NASA–Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) satellite mission will provide an unprecedented detailed view of Earth’s surface. This joint project between the U.S. and India comes as the two countries strengthen their scientific partnership.
NISAR’s advanced radar instruments can see through clouds and darkness to precisely measure changes in landscapes, forests, glaciers, and more. This data will help tackle challenges such as climate change and disaster response.
NISAR can also detect deformations in Earth’s surface with a precision on the order of millimeters for some measurements, says Paul Rosen, a project scientist for the mission at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. These tiny shifts in Earth’s surface aids the study of earthquakes and volcanoes.
Its radar penetrates tree canopies to estimate forest density and carbon capture – key climate inputs. Every 12 days, it will map Earth’s land and ice with 150 mile-wide swaths of the planet’s surface. A shorter wavelength radar will focus intensively on India, Antarctica, among other areas.
The satellite is scheduled to launch from southern India later this spring but not before mid-April, and will orbit about 750 kilometers above Earth. “It’s first-of-its-kind because it has a high resolution as well as a wide swath coverage,” says Deepak Putrevu, who co-leads the mission’s science team for ISRO.
India is cooperating more with the U.S. in space. This includes NISAR since 2014, NASA astronaut training, and joining the U.S.-led Artemis Accords on Moon governance. The U.S.-India relationship has challenges but is deepening in space and beyond.
NISAR will generate massive 100 petabyte annual datasets. NASA requires open data access. India now allows free access to data coarser than 5 meters (3.11 thousandths of a mile), catering to users globally. While India focused on domestic applications, new policy prioritizes security, exploration, and commercialization. NISAR shows India brings strong capabilities to support international partnerships.
With many nations operating similar satellites, scientists are coordinating to maximize insights. Programs don’t align well, presenting challenges. But international cooperation can yield discoveries no nation could achieve alone.
Last updated: December 26th, 2025
