In a major step towards strengthing of US-India ties in civil-space collaboration, the US Air Force handed over NISAR, an earth observation satellite jointly developed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), to the Indian space agency on Wednesday.
A US Air Force C-17 aircraft carried the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture (NISAR) satellite from California, for a joint mission o measure changes in the Earth’s crust and land ice surfaces. The aircraft has landed in Bengaluru, the US Consulate in Chennai said.
The satellite is an outcome of a collaboration between the American space agency NASA and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
“Touchdown in Bengaluru! @ISRO receives NISAR (@NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar) on a @USAirforce C-17 from @NASAJPL in California, setting the stage for final integration of the Earth observation satellite, a true symbol of #USIndia civil space collaboration. #USIndiaTogether,” the US Consulate General, Chennai tweeted.
Touchdown in Bengaluru! @ISRO receives NISAR (@NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar) on a @USAirforce C-17 from @NASAJPL in California, setting the stage for final integration of the Earth observation satellite, a true symbol of #USIndia civil space collaboration. #USIndiaTogether pic.twitter.com/l0a5pa1uxV— U.S. Consulate General Chennai (@USAndChennai) March 8, 2023
NISAR will be used by ISRO for a variety of purposes including agricultural mapping, and landslide-prone areas.
The satellite is expected to be launched in 2024 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Andhra Pradesh, into a near-polar orbit.
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