Space
NISAR Mission
The NISAR Mission is expected to be launched in June 2025 onboard a GSLV (Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle).
About the NISAR Mission
NISAR (NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar) is a joint Earth observation satellite
mission developed by NASA and ISRO under a bilateral agreement signed in 2014.
The satellite is scheduled for launch in June 2025 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre,
Andhra Pradesh, aboard ISRO’s Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark II (GSLV Mk II).
It marks the first-ever collaboration of its kind between India and the United States in radarbased Earth monitoring from space.
NISAR aims to map the entire Earth’s surface every 12 days, enabling high-frequency, precise, and repeat observations.
It will monitor ecosystem changes, ice sheet dynamics, vegetation patterns, sea level rise,
and groundwater variation, and will track natural hazards like earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunamis,
and landslides. Aryabhata
50 Years Since the Launch of Aryabhata – India’s First Satellite
Aryabhata was India’s first indigenously-built satellite, named after the ancient Indian
mathematician and astronomer Aryabhata, who lived in the 5th century CE.
It was launched on April 19, 1975, from Kapustin Yar, a Soviet launch site, with the help of
the Soviet Union.
By launching Aryabhata, India joined an elite club of 11 countries capable of sending satellites into orbit, including the USA, USSR, UK, France, China, West Germany, Australia, Canada,
Japan, and Italy.
Aryabhata was designed to conduct experiments in solar physics and X-ray astronomy.
Aryabhata eventually re-entered Earth’s atmosphere on February 10, 1992, giving it an orbital
lifespan of nearly 17 years.
