The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has announced ambitious plans to launch the NASA–ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) satellite aboard the GSLV–S16 rocket by July 30, ISRO Chairman Dr. V. Narayanan told reporters on Monday.
Dr. Narayanan outlined the agency’s mission roadmap leading up to India’s first crewed spaceflight, Gaganyaan:
- July 30: Launch of the joint US–India NISAR Earth-observation satellite.
- December 2025: First uncrewed “humanoid” mission carrying Vyommitra, ISRO’s spacefaring robot.
- 2026: Two further uncrewed demonstration flights.
- March 2027: Final in-flight tests, after which the Gaganyaan crewed mission will be conducted, as per Prime Minister Modi’s timeline.
NISAR’s Objectives and Innovations
The NISAR satellite is designed to map Earth’s changing surface with unparalleled precision. Its dual-band radar payload—an L-band system (25 cm wavelength) and an S-band system (10 cm wavelength)—will allow:
- Bi-weekly global coverage of land and ice surfaces, detecting minute deformations caused by earthquakes, landslides, and volcanic activity.
- Monitoring of glaciers and ice sheets to track climate-driven advances or retreats.
- Assessment of forest and wetland dynamics, supporting carbon-cycle research.
- Enhanced soil-moisture and water-resource mapping, crucial for agriculture and disaster-response planning.
Once in orbit, NISAR will revisit every point on the planet roughly twice every 12 days, feeding data into both scientific studies and real-time hazard management systems.
With this upcoming launch, ISRO and NASA aim to deliver a first-of-its-kind Earth-observation platform, paving the way not only for breakthroughs in geosciences but also for honing India’s capabilities ahead of the historic Gaganyaan human spaceflight.
