NISAR Satellite: A Flagship of India–US Space Cooperation

The NASA–ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) mission — launched on July 30, 2025 aboard a GSLV rocket from Sriharikota — entered its science operations phase in early January 2026 after months of calibration. Key 2026 milestones include:

  • Public data release: Calibrated L-band data began public release on July 20, 2026 via NASA's Alaska Satellite Facility, generating close to 85 terabytes of data per day and giving researchers worldwide access to centimeter-scale surface deformation tracking.
  • Real-world applications: NISAR has already been used to map land subsidence in Mexico City, track ground displacement from a pair of June 2026 earthquakes near Caracas, and image US landmarks like Mount Rainier and Mount St. Helens — demonstrating its value for disaster response, infrastructure monitoring, and agricultural and glacier tracking.
  • Symbol of strategic-tech convergence: As the first joint NASA–ISRO satellite mission, NISAR is frequently cited as proof-of-concept for deeper India–US civil space cooperation, a relationship both governments have sought to expand even amid friction on trade.