The Indian Space and Research Organisation (ISRO) is preparing to launch a satellite that will help us track Earth’s “surface motions down to fractions of an inch.” Developed in partnership with NASA, the new satellite dubbed NISAR (NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar) will help humans track the motion of glaciers, ice sheets, and sea ice and map the changes to the planet’s vegetation.
According to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NISAR will measure the motion of the entire planet’s land and ice-covered surface every 12 days, giving researchers a clearer picture of our planet’s surface changes over time. This level of accuracy is achieved by using a pair of radars, which consist of L-band and S-band systems built by NASA and ISRO, respectively.
The US Space Agency says these instruments enable the satellite to collect measurements during both day and night and can even see through clouds using the L-band, which can even penetrate dense vegetation to measure the motion of the ground.
While NISAR won’t be able to predict earthquakes, it will help us determine the areas that are most susceptible to them. NASA says that in areas like California, researchers will be able to use the satellite to focus on areas where an earthquake could happen. In areas that are not well monitored, it can help find new earthquake-prone areas.
“From the ISRO perspective, we are particularly interested in the Himalayan plate boundary. The area has produced great magnitude earthquakes in the past, and NISAR will give us unprecedented information on the seismic hazards of the Himalaya,” said Sreejith K M, ISRO’s solid Earth science lead for NISAR at the Space Applications Center in Ahmedabad.
For volcano researchers, NISAR will help detect land movements prior to eruption and can give us a bigger picture of why volcanoes deform and if these deformations are a sign of an eruption. Since the satellite will keep an eye on Earth’s land surface as well, it can be useful to keep an eye on structures like levees, aqueducts and dams and understand how earthquakes affect them.
The article originally appeared on The Indian Express.