S. Somanath, Director of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), speaks during the Heads of Agency Plenary of the 70th International Astronautical Congress, Monday, Oct. 21, 2019 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

70th International Astronautical Congress

S. Somanath, Director of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), during the Heads of Agency press conference at the 70th International Astronautical Congress, Monday, Oct. 21, 2019 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

70th International Astronautical Congress

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy, and S Somanath, Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), meet to discuss ways to enhance bilateral space cooperation on Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023, at the Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters building in Washington. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

NASA Administrator and Deputy Administrator Meet with ISRO Chair

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, left, NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy, right, and S Somanath, Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), center, pose for a picture following a meeting to discuss ways to enhance bilateral space cooperation on Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023, at the Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters building in Washington. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

NASA Administrator and Deputy Administrator Meet with ISRO Chair

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy are seen during a meeting with S Somanath, Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), to discuss ways to enhance bilateral space cooperation on Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023, at the Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters building in Washington. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

NASA Administrator and Deputy Administrator Meet with ISRO Chair

S Somanath, Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), center, is seen during a meeting with NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy to discuss ways to enhance bilateral space cooperation on Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023, at the Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters building in Washington. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

NASA Administrator and Deputy Administrator Meet with ISRO Chair

70th International Astronautical Congress

S. Somanath, Director of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), left, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, Hiroshi Yamakawa, President of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Sergey Krikalev, Executive Director for Piloted Spaceflights for Roscosmos, and Johann-Dietrich Woerner, Director General of ESA (European Space Agency), right, are seen during the Heads of Agency press conference at the 70th International Astronautical Congress, Monday, Oct. 21, 2019 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

70th International Astronautical Congress

Pascale Ehrenfreund, Incoming President of the International Astronautical Federation (IAF), left, and Jean-Yves Le Gall, President of International Astronautical Federation (IAF), second from left, facilitate a panel with NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, Johann-Dietrich Woerner, Director General of ESA (European Space Agency), Hiroshi Yamakawa, President of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Sylvain Laporte, President of the Canadian Space Agency, Sergey Krikalev, Executive Director for Piloted Spaceflights for Roscosmos, and S. Somanath, Director of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), for the Heads of Agency Plenary of the 70th International Astronautical Congress, Monday, Oct. 21, 2019 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

$NASA's NISAR Project Manager Phil Barela (with hands raised) speaks with Indian Space Research Organisation Chairman S. Somanath about the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) science instrument payload in a clean room at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California on Feb. 3, 2023. Somanath was among a group of visitors to the facility that included officials from NASA, ISRO, and the Indian Embassy. The NISAR mission – a joint effort between NASA and ISRO – will measure changes to Earth's land ice surfaces down to fractions of an inch. Data collected by this satellite will help researchers monitor a wide range of changes critical to life on Earth in unprecedented detail. This includes spotting warning signs of imminent volcanic eruptions, helping to monitor groundwater supplies, tracking the melt rate of ice sheets tied to sea level rise, and observing shifts in the distribution of vegetation around the world. The data will inform humanity's responses to urgent challenges posed by natural disasters and climate change, and help communities prepare for and manage hazards. There are two instruments on the satellite that will send and receive radar signals to and from Earth's surface to make the mission's measurements. An L-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR), which uses a signal wavelength of around 9 inches (24 centimeters), and an S-band SAR with a signal wavelength of nearly 5 inches (12 centimeters). Both will bounce their microwave signal off of the planet's surface and record how long it takes the signal to make one roundtrip, as well as the strength of that return signal. This enables the researchers to calculate the distance from the spacecraft to Earth's surface and thereby determine how the land or ice is changing. An antenna reflector nearly 40 feet (12 meters) in diameter, supported by a deployable boom, will focus the microwave signals sent and received by the SARs. JPL, which is managed for NASA by Caltech in Pasadena, leads the U.S. component of NISAR and is providing the mission's L-band SAR instrument. NASA is also providing the radar reflector antenna, the deployable boom, a high-rate communication subsystem for science data, GPS receivers, a solid-state recorder, and payload data subsystem. ISRO is providing the spacecraft bus, the S-band SAR, the launch vehicle, and associated launch services and satellite mission operations. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA25598$

ISRO Chairman Visits NISAR in a Clean Room at JPL

NASA's NISAR Project Manager Phil Barela (with hands raised) speaks with Indian Space Research Organisation Chairman S. Somanath about the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) science instrument payload in a clean room at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California on Feb. 3, 2023. Somanath was among a group of visitors to the facility that included officials from NASA, ISRO, and the Indian Embassy. The NISAR mission – a joint effort between NASA and ISRO – will measure changes to Earth's land ice surfaces down to fractions of an inch. Data collected by this satellite will help researchers monitor a wide range of changes critical to life on Earth in unprecedented detail. This includes spotting warning signs of imminent volcanic eruptions, helping to monitor groundwater supplies, tracking the melt rate of ice sheets tied to sea level rise, and observing shifts in the distribution of vegetation around the world. The data will inform humanity's responses to urgent challenges posed by natural disasters and climate change, and help communities prepare for and manage hazards. There are two instruments on the satellite that will send and receive radar signals to and from Earth's surface to make the mission's measurements. An L-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR), which uses a signal wavelength of around 9 inches (24 centimeters), and an S-band SAR with a signal wavelength of nearly 5 inches (12 centimeters). Both will bounce their microwave signal off of the planet's surface and record how long it takes the signal to make one roundtrip, as well as the strength of that return signal. This enables the researchers to calculate the distance from the spacecraft to Earth's surface and thereby determine how the land or ice is changing. An antenna reflector nearly 40 feet (12 meters) in diameter, supported by a deployable boom, will focus the microwave signals sent and received by the SARs. JPL, which is managed for NASA by Caltech in Pasadena, leads the U.S. component of NISAR and is providing the mission's L-band SAR instrument. NASA is also providing the radar reflector antenna, the deployable boom, a high-rate communication subsystem for science data, GPS receivers, a solid-state recorder, and payload data subsystem. ISRO is providing the spacecraft bus, the S-band SAR, the launch vehicle, and associated launch services and satellite mission operations. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA25598

$Officials from NASA, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), and the Embassy of India hold a send-off ceremony for the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) science instrument payload on Feb. 3, 2023, outside a clean room at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. The payload is scheduled to be shipped to India in March. Pictured left to right: Karen St. Germain, director, Earth Science Division, NASA; Mitra Dutta, NISAR program executive, NASA; Sripriya Ranganathan, ambassador and deputy chief of mission, Indian Embassy; Larry James, deputy director, JPL; Bhavya Lal, associate administrator for technology, policy, and strategy, NASA; Jim Graf, director, Earth Science and Technology Directorate, JPL; S. Somanath, chairman, ISRO; Laurie Leshin, director, JPL; Krunal Joshi, counselor, space and ISRO technical liaison officer, Indian Embassy; M. Sankaran, director, U R Rao Satellite Centre, ISRO; Shantanu Bhatawdekar, scientific secretary, ISRO; Paul Rosen, NISAR project scientist, JPL; CV Shrikant, NISAR project director, ISRO; Phil Barela, NISAR project manager, JPL; and Gerald Bawden, NISAR program scientist, NASA. NISAR – a joint effort between NASA and ISRO – will measure changes to Earth's land ice surfaces down to fractions of an inch. Data collected by this satellite will help researchers monitor a wide range of changes critical to life on Earth in unprecedented detail. This includes spotting warning signs of imminent volcanic eruptions, helping to monitor groundwater supplies, tracking the melt rate of ice sheets tied to sea level rise, and observing shifts in the distribution of vegetation around the world. The data will inform humanity's responses to urgent challenges posed by natural disasters and climate change, and help communities prepare for and manage hazards. There are two instruments on the satellite that will send and receive radar signals to and from Earth's surface to make the mission's measurements. An L-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR), which uses a signal wavelength of around 9 inches (24 centimeters), and an S-band SAR with a signal wavelength of nearly 5 inches (12 centimeters). Both will bounce their microwave signal off of the planet's surface and record how long it takes the signal to make one roundtrip, as well as the strength of that return signal. This enables the researchers to calculate the distance from the spacecraft to Earth's surface and thereby determine how the land or ice is changing. An antenna reflector nearly 40 feet (12 meters) in diameter, supported by a deployable boom, will focus the microwave signals sent and received by the SARs. JPL, which is managed for NASA by Caltech in Pasadena, leads the U.S. component of NISAR and is providing the mission's L-band SAR instrument. NASA is also providing the radar reflector antenna, the deployable boom, a high-rate communication subsystem for science data, GPS receivers, a solid-state recorder, and payload data subsystem. ISRO is providing the spacecraft bus, the S-band SAR, the launch vehicle, and associated launch services and satellite mission operations. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA25600$

NASA, JPL, ISRO, and Indian Embassy Officials Send Off NISAR

Officials from NASA, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), and the Embassy of India hold a send-off ceremony for the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) science instrument payload on Feb. 3, 2023, outside a clean room at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. The payload is scheduled to be shipped to India in March. Pictured left to right: Karen St. Germain, director, Earth Science Division, NASA; Mitra Dutta, NISAR program executive, NASA; Sripriya Ranganathan, ambassador and deputy chief of mission, Indian Embassy; Larry James, deputy director, JPL; Bhavya Lal, associate administrator for technology, policy, and strategy, NASA; Jim Graf, director, Earth Science and Technology Directorate, JPL; S. Somanath, chairman, ISRO; Laurie Leshin, director, JPL; Krunal Joshi, counselor, space and ISRO technical liaison officer, Indian Embassy; M. Sankaran, director, U R Rao Satellite Centre, ISRO; Shantanu Bhatawdekar, scientific secretary, ISRO; Paul Rosen, NISAR project scientist, JPL; CV Shrikant, NISAR project director, ISRO; Phil Barela, NISAR project manager, JPL; and Gerald Bawden, NISAR program scientist, NASA. NISAR – a joint effort between NASA and ISRO – will measure changes to Earth's land ice surfaces down to fractions of an inch. Data collected by this satellite will help researchers monitor a wide range of changes critical to life on Earth in unprecedented detail. This includes spotting warning signs of imminent volcanic eruptions, helping to monitor groundwater supplies, tracking the melt rate of ice sheets tied to sea level rise, and observing shifts in the distribution of vegetation around the world. The data will inform humanity's responses to urgent challenges posed by natural disasters and climate change, and help communities prepare for and manage hazards. There are two instruments on the satellite that will send and receive radar signals to and from Earth's surface to make the mission's measurements. An L-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR), which uses a signal wavelength of around 9 inches (24 centimeters), and an S-band SAR with a signal wavelength of nearly 5 inches (12 centimeters). Both will bounce their microwave signal off of the planet's surface and record how long it takes the signal to make one roundtrip, as well as the strength of that return signal. This enables the researchers to calculate the distance from the spacecraft to Earth's surface and thereby determine how the land or ice is changing. An antenna reflector nearly 40 feet (12 meters) in diameter, supported by a deployable boom, will focus the microwave signals sent and received by the SARs. JPL, which is managed for NASA by Caltech in Pasadena, leads the U.S. component of NISAR and is providing the mission's L-band SAR instrument. NASA is also providing the radar reflector antenna, the deployable boom, a high-rate communication subsystem for science data, GPS receivers, a solid-state recorder, and payload data subsystem. ISRO is providing the spacecraft bus, the S-band SAR, the launch vehicle, and associated launch services and satellite mission operations. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA25600