Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies (KUFOS)- Partner in NASA-ISRO research programme

December 21, 2021

The Kerala University of Fisheries & Ocean Studies (KUFOS) has been chosen to join a research project under a NASA-ISRO collaborative programme.

Highlights

KUFOS will join the research programme by Space Application Centre of ISRO.
NASA and ISRO have been jointly developing a space-borne synthetic aperture radar (NISAR). It will be launched in January 2023.
NISAR will provide a high-resolution data for large areas with capability for systematic observation of earth resources. It will also provide time-series data for eco-systems applications.

NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) mission

NISAR is a joint project between NASA and ISRO. Both the organisations are working on it to co-develop and launch a dual-frequency synthetic aperture radar on the Earth observation satellite. NISAR will be launched in 2023 and it will be the first radar imaging satellite that uses dual frequencies. Satellite will be used for remote sensing as well as to observe & understand natural processes on Earth.

Advanced Radar Imaging

NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar will use advanced radar imaging for mapping the elevation of Earth’s land and ice masses. Mapping will be done for 4 to 6 times in a month at resolutions of 5 to 10 meters. Satellite has been designed to observe and measure Earth’s most complex natural processes, like ice-sheet collapse, ecosystem disturbances, and natural hazards like tsunamis, earthquakes, volcanoes and landslides.

NASA-ISRO agreement

Under the agreement between NASA and ISRO, NASA will provide L-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR), a solid-state recorder, a high-rate telecommunication subsystem for scientific data GPS receivers, and a payload data subsystem. On the other hand, ISRO will provide an S-band synthetic aperture radar, satellite bus, launch vehicle, and associated launch services.