THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) mission is ‘on schedule’ and only a key test remains before the launch of the satellite ‘early this year’, says Paul A Rosen, NISAR Project Scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab in California, US. NASA scientists involved in the India-US space mission are in Thiruvananthapuram to participate in the Global Science Festival Kerala on Monday.
In an interview with TNIE, Rosen and fellow scientists Andrea Donnellan and Seung-bum Kim said ISRO has agreed to give ‘open access’ to huge volumes of data that would be mapped by the mission, benefiting the global scientific community. NISAR satellite will measure the Earth’s changing ecosystems, dynamic surfaces and ice masses, providing information about natural hazards, sea level rise, and groundwater sources, and will also support a host of other applications.
Edited excerpts:
When can we expect the NISAR launch?
The official word for the launch now is early 2024. If you have to summarise it, you can say we are on schedule. There’s only one more test to do related to acoustics that will happen soon.
What new does NISAR bring to the table in terms of improving our disaster preparedness?
Our radar system is global in its observation scope. It allows us to map any land or ice-covered surface so as to create a reliable set of data on any spot on the ground. In terms of disaster monitoring and preparedness, our system can be used reliably to develop applications to mitigate disasters.
It’s a three-year mission. Will its scope end after that period?
We have specific requirements that could be met in a three-year period. However, if the spacecraft is healthy after three years, NASA could extend the mission as it has often done. Longer periods are often more beneficial as we can see things in a consistent fashion.
Will the huge volume of data be shared with the global scientific community or only between India and US?
NASA follows an open data policy. When we started this mission, we had urged ISRO to follow the policy as it’s a science mission. ISRO agreed. So, our understanding is they are planning to make the data at their National Remote Sensing Centre free and open.
You have been closely associated with ISRO scientists for a decade. What are their core strengths?
(It is) The focus of the ISRO community is on practical applications of scientific data. This is something NASA talks about a lot but does not invest in the way it invests in the pure science area.
Are there more joint projects planned between ISRO and NASA?
Since we are not in the programme office, we are not sure of NASA’s immediate priorities. But there has been discussion between both sides on at least two upcoming earth science projects.
Will the findings from Chandrayaan-3 be helpful in NASA’s upcoming human mission to the moon’s south pole?
To the extent that ISRO shares the results that come from their missions, we will all learn from it. Navigation to the moon’s surface is a challenge for everybody. The experiences ISRO had in moon landing, and the measurements they made will be important for everybody if they are shared.