New Delhi, June 18, 2025 — In a landmark collaboration, ISRO and NASA are gearing up to launch NISAR (NASA–ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar), a cutting-edge Earth-observing satellite, from India’s Satish Dhawan Space Centre in July 2025 .
Cost & Collaboration
With an estimated project value of USD 1.5 billion, NISAR stands as one of the most ambitious Earth-observation initiatives to date . It marks the first dual‑frequency SAR mission, combining L‑band and S‑band radars jointly built by NASA’s JPL and ISRO’s SAC, Ahmedabad
Launch Details
Transported from Bengaluru to the launch site in mid-May, NISAR is scheduled to lift off aboard a GSLV Mk II (GSLV‑F16) in July.
Earth‑Observation Capabilities
Orbiting approximately 747 km above Earth, NISAR will complete a full global scan of land and ice surfaces every 12 days, capturing day‑night, all‑weather radar imagery at 5–10 m resolution. Its dual‑frequency design allows for penetrating cloud, vegetation, and smoke to analyze subtle surface deformations, glacier melt, forest biomass, soil moisture, and disaster zones.
Open‑Access Data & Global Impact
All collected data will be made freely available to global researchers and agencies, enabling timely insights into natural disasters, climate change, and ecosystem dynamics.
This mission marks a major milestone in India–US civil space cooperation, following diplomatic support expressed by both nations’ leaders earlier in 2025