Science & Technologyv1 · 1 version
NISAR — The NASA-ISRO Radar Satellite
NISAR is the most capable Earth-imaging radar ever flown, a roughly 2.4-tonne satellite built jointly by NASA and ISRO that scans the planet with two radar frequencies at once. Sent up on an Indian GSLV rocket on 30 July 2025, it is the first spacecraft to carry both an L-band and an S-band synthetic-aperture radar, and it sweeps the whole globe every 12 days, by day or night and straight through cloud, catching ground shifts no wider than a fingernail.
Last updated 14 July 20266 min read
Latest update
NISAR in routine science operations: launched 30 Jul 2025 on GSLV-F16, the first dual-band (L+S) radar satellite images all of Earth every 12 days and streams about 85 TB/day of open data.
- NISAR
- ISRO
- NASA
- GSLV-F16
- SAR
- synthetic aperture radar
- S-band
- Earth observation
Read the full living note — free
The complete note in both exam lenses (UPSC analytical / fact capsule), its full version history, and “what changed since you last read” — plus tonight's quiz.
Open in CA·WikiAI-assisted, human-reviewed · sourced from PIB, RBI & ministries · editorial policy
More living notes in Science & Technology
- India's Telecom SectorAdds the third Bharat 6G Symposium, the New Delhi Declaration's first progress report and TTDF's 136 funded projects, and gathers India's 6G goals and alliances in one section.
- India's Additive Manufacturing Strategy (NSAM)New card on India's 3D-printing strategy: MeitY's 2022 targets, progress to October 2026 and the priorities of the coming NSAM 2.0.
- National Quantum MissionAdds India's first free-space quantum key distribution link, a 5.56-km QNu Labs trial with BISAG-N and IIT Gandhinagar on 27-28 September 2026, and why open-air links matter.
- National Supercomputing MissionIntroduces the National Supercomputing Mission: its DST-MeitY steering, ₹4,500 crore plan, 50-machine target and the September 2026 count of 40 machines with 68 petaflops.
- CHIME Telescope and Hydrogen Intensity MappingCreates the CHIME card: what the telescope is, how hydrogen intensity mapping probes dark energy, and its first standalone detection with Raman Research Institute collaborators.
- BHASHINI — India's Language AI PlatformCreates the BHASHINI platform card: who runs it, its four language technologies and coverage, and the new CAG-BHASHINI Anuvaad audit-report translation tool.