Latest news with #Earth-observing
Time of India
3 days ago
- Science
- Time of India
NASA-ISRO to launch $1.5 billion NISAR satellite: Why this Earth-monitoring mission is so important
In a major joint effort, NASA and ISRO are set to launch the NISAR satellite , a $1.5 billion Earth-observing mission that could transform the way we monitor our planet. The launch is scheduled for June 18, 2025, from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in India. NISAR, short for NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar , will track changes on Earth's surface with centimeter-level precision—whether it's day or night, sunny or stormy. The satellite carries a huge 12-metre radar antenna and weighs nearly three tonnes. It's built to deliver real-time data on critical issues like farming patterns, climate shifts, earthquakes, landslides and floods. Scientists, farmers and emergency teams across the globe are expected to benefit from the mission's insights, making NISAR one of the most anticipated Earth science projects in recent years. Why NASA and ISRO joined hands for the NISAR mission Most existing Earth-observing satellites depend on reflected sunlight to capture surface images, meaning they can only function in daylight and clear weather. This limits their effectiveness in cloud-covered regions like the tropics or during nighttime events. The NASA-ISRO collaboration on the NISAR mission aims to overcome these gaps. Using advanced radar technology, NISAR will provide round-the-clock, all-weather imaging, enabling more accurate monitoring of natural disasters, environmental changes, and agricultural patterns regardless of time or conditions. How NISAR's radar technology makes a difference NISAR uses synthetic aperture radar (SAR), a technology first developed for military use in the 1950s. Unlike optical imaging, SAR actively sends radar signals to Earth's surface and captures their reflections. This works much like using a flash in a dark room. SAR can see through clouds, smoke, and even dense vegetation, making it ideal for 24/7 monitoring in all weather conditions. Real-time disaster monitoring and response SAR has already proven useful in tracking disasters like floods, landslides, and earthquakes. NISAR takes this a step further by offering more detailed images and dual-frequency radar. It can detect even subtle land shifts caused by disasters and help emergency teams assess damage quickly, improving response and recovery efforts. Looking inside forests and wetlands NISAR's radar can penetrate thick vegetation, allowing scientists to study the structure of forests and wetlands in new detail. It will measure how much biomass and carbon forests hold and detect flooded vegetation, giving insights into ecosystems that store vast amounts of carbon and support biodiversity. Global benefits for science and agriculture The satellite's high-resolution data will be made freely available to researchers and institutions worldwide. It will scan nearly all land and ice surfaces every 12 days, offering more frequent and sharper imaging than previous missions like Sentinel-1. For agriculture, NISAR can measure soil moisture in all conditions, helping farmers time irrigation and boost crop yields. Tracking glaciers, coastlines, and oil spills Beyond forests and farms, NISAR will monitor the movement of ice sheets and glaciers, which is vital for studying rising sea levels. It will also help track coastal erosion and oil spills at sea, offering tools for both environmental protection and disaster response. A bold leap for Earth science After more than ten years in development, the NISAR satellite is ready to offer a powerful new view of our planet. It combines cutting-edge radar with global access to help scientists, governments, and communities better understand Earth's systems and respond to its challenges. From climate change to food security and disaster resilience, NISAR is set to play a key role in the years to come. .
NDTV
4 days ago
- Science
- NDTV
India To Launch $1.5 Billion Joint Earth Mission With NASA In July
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) are set to launch satellite NISAR (NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar) from India's Satish Dhawan Space Centre this July. The $1.5 billion Earth-observing satellite, weighing nearly three tonnes, will monitor the planet's surface with unmatched precision, using advanced radar to scan land, ice, and water every 12 days. Jointly developed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and ISRO's Space Applications Centre, NISAR is the world's first Earth-observing satellite equipped with dual-frequency radar, L-band and S-band. Using Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) technology, it will actively beam radar signals to Earth and analyse the reflections to create high-resolution images. Unlike optical satellites that depend on sunlight and clear skies, NISAR can capture data day or night, and even "see" through cloud cover, smoke, or dense vegetation. What sets NISAR apart is its commitment to open data. The high-resolution imagery and insights it collects will be made freely available to scientists, agencies, and governments across the globe. This technology makes it a powerful tool for tracking natural disasters, changes in groundwater, agricultural patterns, forest biomass, and the shifting of tectonic plates. It can even detect ground shifts as small as a few millimetres, making it vital for monitoring earthquakes, landslides, glacier melt, dam subsidence, coastal erosion, and forest biomass. It can also track soil moisture, helping farmers improve irrigation and boost crop yields. With wide-ranging uses, NISAR will aid disaster response, climate research, and sustainable farming worldwide. The NISAR mission has been under development for over a decade, with joint engineering efforts led by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California and ISRO's Space Applications Centre in Ahmedabad. NISAR is now being prepped for its July launch aboard an ISRO GSLV Mark II rocket. Before this, it went through months of integration and rigorous testing at ISRO's Bengaluru facility, where engineers from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and ISRO worked closely since March 2023.
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Coolest Space Photos of 2025 Will Fill You With Cosmic Wonder
There's always something happening in space, and humanity is documenting it more quickly and clearly than ever before. Orbiting telescopes, astronauts and spacecraft are sending back a stream of photos that show off the diversity and wonder of the universe. Here are some of the best space photos of the year, so far. It wasn't just imagery of objects beyond Earth that caught our eye over the first half of the year. The European Space Agency's Sentinel-2 Earth-observing satellite documented the devastating Palisades Fire in California in January. The Jan. 7 view showed a large smoke plume stretching out over the Pacific Ocean. That was just the beginning of a series of wildfires that destroyed residences and buildings in Los Angeles County. NASA astronaut and astrophotographer extraordinaire Don Pettit shared a knockout view of Earth from the International Space Station in late February. "Cosmic colors at sunrise; never get tired of seeing what the new day brings," he said. This photo has it all: our planet, swirling aurora lights and a sweeping vista of stars. It's tough to land successfully on the moon. Firefly Aerospace pulled off the feat in March with its Blue Ghost Mission 1. The Blue Ghost lander captured a historic view of a sunrise from the surface of the moon. The image shows the pockmarked lunar surface with the bright flash of the sun topping the horizon. Many moon missions, including Intuitive Machine's 2025 attempt, go wrong. That makes Blue Ghost's sunrise image all the more poignant. It marks a hard-earned lunar success story. The James Webb Space Telescope delivered a wild view of Herbig-Haro 49/50 in March. NASA described the space object as "a frothy-looking outflow from a nearby protostar" and a "cosmic tornado." Look for the distant spiral galaxy in the upper left. The venerable Hubble Space Telescope celebrated 35 years in orbit in April. NASA and ESA partied down by releasing a series of Hubble anniversary images, including views of Mars and a barred spiral galaxy. It's hard to pick just one anniversary image to highlight, but the telescope's ethereal view of the Rosette Nebula and its smoky clouds of gas and dust stands out. The nebula is a place of active star formation. Hubble's image focuses on one small, scenic part of the Rosette. NASA astronaut Nichole Ayers got some full-moon photography in during May's "flower moon." Ayers had a front-row seat to the glowing lunar action from her perch on the International Space Station. Ayers shared a series of photos with Earth in the frame, emphasizing the relationship between our blue planet and our lunar neighbor. NASA's Perseverance rover has been trucking around Mars since early 2021. The wheeled explorer marked its 1,500th Martian day on May 10 by taking a fresh selfie. Percy took dozens of images of itself using a camera mounted on the end of its robotic arm. NASA stitched the shots together to create the selfie. Look deeper into the image to spot a swirling dust devil dancing in the background. "Having the dust devil in the background makes it a classic," said Perseverance imaging scientist Megan Wu. "This is a great shot." The year is not even half over. There are full moons, auroras, space launches and meteor showers coming down the line. Satellites are watching over Earth. Space telescopes are staring out into the cosmos and sending back postcards from our universe. Stay tuned for more stunning images.
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Rocket Lab launches private Earth-observing satellite toward orbit
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Rocket Lab launched an Earth-observing satellite for the company BlackSky toward orbit tonight (June 2). An Electron rocket lifted off from Rocket Lab's New Zealand site today at 7:57 p.m. EDT (0057 GMT or 11:57 a.m. local New Zealand time on June 3), carrying a "Gen-3" satellite for Virginia-based BlackSky toward low Earth orbit (LEO). If all goes to plan, the mission, which Rocket Lab calls "Full Stream Ahead," will deliver the spacecraft to a circular orbit 292 miles (470 kilometers) above Earth. Once there, the spacecraft "will join the remainder of the company's constellation delivering very high-resolution imagery and AI-enabled analytics for daily intelligence operations," Rocket Lab wrote in a mission description. "'Full Stream Ahead' is the second in a series of four Electron launches booked by BlackSky to deploy its Gen-3 satellites to orbit this year, and the 10th overall [Electron] launch for the company — making Electron the most prolific launcher for their constellation to date," Rocket Lab added. Related stories: — Rocket Lab launches new NASA solar sail tech to orbit (video, photos) — Rocket Lab launches sharp-eyed Earth-observation satellite to orbit (video) — Rocket Lab launches 5 'Internet of Things' satellites to orbit (video) Tonight's launch was the seventh of 2025 and the 65th overall flight for the 59-foot-tall (18 meters) Electron, which gives small satellites dedicated rides to orbit. Rocket Lab also flies a suborbital variant of Electron known as HASTE, which serves as a testbed for hypersonic technologies. The company is also developing a larger, more powerful orbital rocket called Neutron, which is designed to be partially reusable. Neutron is expected to debut later this year. Editor's note: This story was updated at 8:10 p.m. ET on June 2 with news that Electron had lifted off.
NDTV
01-06-2025
- Science
- NDTV
Scientists Can Tell When A Volcano Is About To Erupt Using This 'Green' Cue
Scientists can predict when a volcano is about to erupt by looking at the vegetation nearby. A new study collaboration between NASA and the Smithsonian Institution claims that the greenness of the trees around a volcano can indicate a potential imminent blast. As volcanoes get charged up to explode, they push magma close to the surface, releasing higher levels of carbon dioxide. In turn, the health of the surrounding trees is boosted with the leaves becoming greener by consuming the excess CO2. "The remote detection of carbon dioxide greening of vegetation potentially gives scientists another tool - along with seismic waves and changes in ground height-to get a clear idea of what's going on underneath the volcano," read a NASA statement. Up until recently, scientists had to trek to volcanoes if they wanted to measure the CO2 levels, as a volcano emitting modest amounts of carbon dioxide does not show up in satellite imagery. However, with a number of volcanoes located in remote areas, assessing the greenery could help scientists avoid the trouble of trekking through the dangerous terrains. "There are plenty of satellites we can use to do this kind of analysis," study lead author Nicole Guinn, a doctoral student in volcanology at the University of Houston in Texas, said in the statement. Researchers analysed images collected by Landsat 8, NASA's Terra satellite, ESA's (European Space Agency) Sentinel-2, and other Earth-observing satellites to monitor trees around the Mount Etna volcano on the coast of Sicily. Results showed 16 clear spikes in both the amount of CO2 and vegetation's greenness, which coincided with upward migrations of magma from the volcano. The findings could have important real-life implications as 10 per cent of the world's population lives in areas susceptible to volcanic hazards. Predicting a volcanic eruption in advance could help move out people who live or work within a few miles of the volcano and face dangers that include ejected rock, dust, and surges of hot, toxic gases.
