Space
‘NISAR satellite’
NISAR satellite to map Himalayas’ seismic zones
- A forthcoming satellite, NISAR, jointly developed the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of the U.S. will map the most earthquake prone regions in the Himalayas with unprecedented regularity.
- The data this will generate can potentially give advance warning of land subsidence, as recently observed in Joshimath, Uttarakhand, as well point to places that are at greatest risk from earthquakes.
- The NISAR satellite will use two frequency bands: the L band and S band to image the seismically active Himalayan region that will, every 12 days, create a “deformation map”.
About NISAR
- NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR)
- It is a Low-Earth orbit (LEO) observatory being developed jointly by NASA and ISRO
- It will map the entire globe in 12 days and provide reliable spatial and temporal data for analysing the changes in Earth’s ecosystems
About ISRO
- Established in August 15, 1969
- It is the space agency of India
- Objective: To harvest the benefits of outer space for India and the mankind by involvement in science, engineering and technology
- Headquarters: Bengaluru
- Chairman: Shri S. Somnath
