India-NASA Earth Observation Partnership: NISAR Satellite Launch

India and NASA had their own agreements and issues: On July 29, 2025, the NASA-ISRO NISAR satellite was launched, the first common Earth observation project between ISRO and NASA. NISAR works on the basis of dual-frequency SAR to observe environmental changes and control disasters. It will provide agricultural, water and strategic maritime applications data. The partnership consisted of more than 240 scientists of three nations and engineers. The mission establishes an international standard of climate collaboration worldwide as well as satellite Earth science.

Context

• Date of the Event: 29 July 2025
• Launched By: Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota
• Undertaking Agencies NASA (USA) and ISRO (India)
• Significance: First dual frequency SAR satellite to observe the earth and detect resources world-wide.

Key Points for RAS Mains

Important Discoveries of the NISAR Satellite

• Dual Frequency SAR: L-band (NASA) and S-band (ISRO) Synthetic Aperture Radar
• Weight and Orbit: 2,392kg satellite in an orbit that is 743km with Sun synchronous of the Sun.
• Mission Lifespan: 5 years; is continuing its scan of the earth on a rotating 12 day schedule
• Antenna: 12-metre reflected mesh, or SweepSAR high res mode

Cycles of the NISAR Mission

• Launch Phase: GSLV-F16 was launched 29 July 2025 at 5:40 PM
• Staging Phase: Begins 10 days after launch: the radar boom and antenna are erected
• Commissioning Stage: Payment Calibration Phase: The payload and systems are calibrated.
• Science Phase: Never-ending observation of the Earth and collection of its data

Purposes and Uses

• Environmental Monitoring: The environmental monitoring covers the monitoring of plant growth, land displacement, glaciers, and moisture content of soil
• Disaster Management: Early warning of earthquake, floods, landslides and storms
• Agriculture & Water: Land Water and Surface Water Analysis, Crop Tracking and Farm Mapping
• Strategic Utility: Monitoring at sea and tracking of sea ice, and ship detection

The significance of ISRO-NASA Cooperation

Technological Contributions:

• ISRO: S-band radar, satellite Bus, launching services
• NASA: L band radar, GPS, radar reflector, data subsystem

COVID-Era Execution:

• JPL, USA has 65+ ISRO engineers.
• ISRO engineering facilities have 175+ NASA engineers
• Global Model: Evidence of strong and united scientific relationship in crisis times

Conclusion

It is a step forward in Indo-US space collaboration since it is the launching of the NISAR satellite. It contributes to the capability of the global community to track the effects of climate, disaster management and protection of resources through the latest advanced technology in Earth observation. NISAR will be critical in attaining data-driven governance, sustainable growth, and scientific diplomacy in the 21st century.