NASA and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) have announced plans to launch a powerful Earth-observing satellite in March 2025. The satellite, named the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR), will be designed to scan nearly all of Earth's land and ice surfaces twice every 12 days.

The NISAR satellite, which will be launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre on India's southeastern coast, aims to provide critical data on changes in Earth's ecosystems, land and sea ice, and the solid Earth.

According to NASA, observations from NISAR will have wide-ranging benefits for humanity, offering valuable insights into the planet's surface changes, including ice sheets, glaciers, and sea ice. The satellite will also track transformations in Earth's forests and wetland ecosystems and monitor the movement and deformation of the planet’s crust, such as earthquakes, landslides, and volcanic activity.

This collaboration between NASA and ISRO is set to improve the global understanding of environmental shifts and geological phenomena, advancing research in fields such as climate change, natural disasters, and ecosystems.