NISAR will reshape earth observation missions: Scientist Diwakar

NISAR, the earth observation mission jointly developed by NASA and the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro), will be “a game-changer” in terms of the research and applications it could facilitate, P G Diwakar, senior scientist and Isro Chair Professor at the National Institute of Advanced Studies, said on Sunday.

He was speaking with DH on the sidelines of a TEDx event hosted by the Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS), Bengaluru.

“This is going to throw open a very novel way of looking at earth from space. It will be a game-changer,” Diwakar, who retired from Isro as a distinguished scientist, said.

NISAR (NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar) is designed to map the earth and track changes in ecosystems, including vegetation, surface soil moisture, sea levels, and conditions building up to natural disasters. It is expected to be launched in January 2024.

The low earth orbit radar will use two different frequencies — S band and L band — and employ the Sweep SAR technique to produce fine-resolution images. Isro has said that differential penetration of the dual-frequency signals will also enable characterising targets that are beneath tree canopy and sub-surface features.

“(With NISAR in orbit) we can look at the earth, the snow and the glaciers, for instance, in ways we have not. It facilitates observation without the limitations we have today in terms of the sensors we have,” Diwakar, former head of Isro’s Regional Remote Sensing Centre in Bengaluru, said.

In his talk on Space for Sustainable Development at the 10th edition of TEDx at NMIMS Bengaluru, themed ‘Unfold the Manifold’, he traced the trajectory of applied research through the development of applications and their utility in public services.

Burgeoning Bengaluru

Speaking with DH about learnings from space and their more tangible applications in enhancing public services, the senior scientist said there is a “mismatch” between the knowledge gained on addressing the issues and the implementation of corrective measures on the ground.

Underlining the unprecedented expansion of Bengaluru, he said the city’s growth has left its planning mechanisms inadequate, impairing critical infrastructure, including flood-control systems.

“What will happen to Bengaluru in such (flooded) conditions in the future is something we need to worry about. Entire plans can be made based on data from space but implementation is another matter altogether. To a large extent, these learnings have been adopted by the governments but there are also gaps caused by long-drawn implementation processes,” he said.