Indian Officials Inspect JPL Earth Science Instruments Bound for India

Officials from JPL, NASA, ISRO, and the Indian Embassy held a send-off ceremony before the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) science instrument payload is transported to southern India for integration with the spacecraft bus, further testing, and launch in 2024. [Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech]

Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena welcomed dignitaries from US and Indian space agencies, along with members of the media, to view the science payload of the NISAR satellite on Feb. 3. The NISAR, short for NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar, is an Earth science satellite being jointly built by NASA and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). The dignitaries, who included JPL Director Laurie Leshin and ISRO Chairman S. Somanath, saw the advanced radar instruments in a clean room.

Leshin said that the NISAR mission marks an important milestone in their shared journey to better understand planet Earth and its changing climate.

The delegation viewed the scientific instrument payload in the High Bay 2 clean room and saw engineers and technicians put it through final electrical testing.

In front of a scale model of the NISAR satellite, NISAR Project Manager Phil Barela from NASA and NISAR Project Director CV Shrikant from ISRO ceremoniously broke fresh coconuts, a tradition in India that signifies hope for a smooth road ahead.

NISAR will provide measurements of Earth’s crust, ice sheets, and ecosystems with unprecedented precision, with the aim of delivering new understanding and positive impact.

The satellite’s payload will be transported to India later this month and merged with the spacecraft bus in preparation for a 2024 launch.

NISAR will use a signal-processing technique called interferometric synthetic aperture radar to gather radar data with a drum-shaped reflector antenna 12 meters in diameter. The payload, which is the size of an SUV, will be shipped to India’s U R Rao Satellite Centre in Bengaluru later this month and merged with the spacecraft bus in preparation for a 2024 launch.

The NISAR observations will help measure the ways in which Earth is changing and detect subtle and dramatic movements. Data about such movements could help communities prepare for natural hazards, improve understanding of the pace and impacts of climate change, and reduce uncertainties in models used to project future climate. The satellite will observe nearly the entire planet every 12 days for three years, making observations day and night, in all weather conditions.

Karen St. Germain, director of NASA’s Earth Science Division, said that the NISAR mission is the culmination of years of cooperation between NASA and ISRO and shows their shared commitment to advancing science and benefitting humanity.