ISRO-NASA Earth Mapping Mission Likely To Launch In 2025 News24 –

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has begun the final stage of preparations for the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) mission, a joint effort to transform Earth observation. Originally scheduled for launch in 2024, the mission experienced several delays due to technical issues, notably concerns over overheating in the satellite’s 12-meter radar antenna reflector.

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) received the component from its journey back in 2024 so they could coat it to reduce temperature-related issues during deployment.

After thorough retesting was done, the satellite received its complete integration at ISRO’s Bengaluru facility during October 2024. The C-130 aircraft belonging to NASA made multiple flights to transport vital equipment to India for final assembly work that ended in January 2025.

Pre-Launch Activities At Sriharikota

The spacecraft has been transported to the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) in Sriharikota, where ISRO is currently carrying out pre-launch inspections. During a recent meeting with Science Minister Jitendra Singh, ISRO Chairman V. Narayanan suggested a potential launch window in 2025.

GSLV Mark II Preparations Underway

The Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) Mark II’s second stage was transported to Sriharikota on April 26, 2025, to initiate refined launch procedure preparations.

What Makes NISAR Unique

NISAR depends on dual-band radar (L-band and S-band) to monitor Earth’s surface 12 times every month for sub-centimeter topographic and glacial, and ecological modifications. Through its detailed data collection, Nisar facilitates the improvement of disaster response capabilities as well as studies of climate and structural inspections. Paul Rosen from NASA JPL explained that Nisar can detect Earth’s surface alterations at intervals of a week, while each pixel represents the area of an average tennis court, as reported by India Today.