NISAR to map Himalayan Seismic activity

• NISAR will map the most earthquake-prone regions in the Himalayas with unprecedented regularity.
• It will feature advanced radar systems, L- and S-band radar built by NASA and ISRO respectively, to add to current understanding on Earth’s crust.
• It will study Earth’s land and ice surfaces twice every 12 days to study natural hazards, melting sea ice, groundwater supply, volcanoes etc.
• It will also survey forests and agricultural regions to help understand carbon exchange between plants and atmosphere.

Significance of NISAR for Himalayan region

• Determining how strain is building up in various parts of the Himalayas.
  • Strain refers to deformation that occurs in rocks when it is under pressure from other rocks, usually due to movements of continental plates.
• Study deformation patterns, such as in Joshimath, and create a deformation map.
• Map out the most earthquake-prone regions in the Himalayas with unprecedented regularity.

About NISAR Satellite

• NISAR is an Earth-observation satellite, being jointly developed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
• It was envisioned by NASA and ISRO eight years ago in 2014.
• It is slated to be launched in 2024 by ISRO’s Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark II
• The satellite will operate for a minimum of three years. It is a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) observatory.
• NISAR will map the entire globe in 12 days