Members Can Post Anonymously On This Site
-
Similar Topics
-
By NASA
3 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
Communities in coastal areas such as Florida, shown in this 1992 NASA image, are vulnerable to the effects of sea level rise, including high-tide flooding. A new agency-led analysis found a higher-than-expected rate of sea level rise in 2024, which was also the hottest year on record.NASA Last year’s increase was due to an unusual amount of ocean warming, combined with meltwater from land-based ice such as glaciers.
Global sea level rose faster than expected in 2024, mostly because of ocean water expanding as it warms, or thermal expansion. According to a NASA-led analysis, last year’s rate of rise was 0.23 inches (0.59 centimeters) per year, compared to the expected rate of 0.17 inches (0.43 centimeters) per year.
“The rise we saw in 2024 was higher than we expected,” said Josh Willis, a sea level researcher at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. “Every year is a little bit different, but what’s clear is that the ocean continues to rise, and the rate of rise is getting faster and faster.”
This graph shows global mean sea level (in blue) since 1993 as measured by a series of five satellites. The solid red line indicates the trajectory of this increase, which has more than doubled over the past three decades. The dotted red line projects future sea level rise.NASA/JPL-Caltech In recent years, about two-thirds of sea level rise was from the addition of water from land into the ocean by melting ice sheets and glaciers. About a third came from thermal expansion of seawater. But in 2024, those contributions flipped, with two-thirds of sea level rise coming from thermal expansion.
“With 2024 as the warmest year on record, Earth’s expanding oceans are following suit, reaching their highest levels in three decades,” said Nadya Vinogradova Shiffer, head of physical oceanography programs and the Integrated Earth System Observatory at NASA Headquarters in Washington.
Since the satellite record of ocean height began in 1993, the rate of annual sea level rise has more than doubled. In total, global sea level has gone up by 4 inches (10 centimeters) since 1993.
This long-term record is made possible by an uninterrupted series of ocean-observing satellites starting with TOPEX/Poseidon in 1992. The current ocean-observing satellite in that series, Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich, launched in 2020 and is one of an identical pair of spacecraft that will carry this sea level dataset into its fourth decade. Its twin, the upcoming Sentinel-6B satellite, will continue to measure sea surface height down to a few centimeters for about 90% of the world’s oceans.
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
This animation shows the rise in global mean sea level from 1993 to 2024 based on da-ta from five international satellites. The expansion of water as it warms was responsible for the majority of the higher-than-expected rate of rise in 2024.NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio Mixing It Up
There are several ways in which heat makes its way into the ocean, resulting in the thermal expansion of water. Normally, seawater arranges itself into layers determined by water temperature and density. Warmer water floats on top of and is lighter than cooler water, which is denser. In most places, heat from the surface moves very slowly through these layers down into the deep ocean.
But extremely windy areas of the ocean can agitate the layers enough to result in vertical mixing. Very large currents, like those found in the Southern Ocean, can tilt ocean layers, allowing surface waters to more easily slip down deep.
The massive movement of water during El Niño — in which a large pool of warm water normally located in the western Pacific Ocean sloshes over to the central and eastern Pacific — can also result in vertical movement of heat within the ocean.
Learn more about sea level:
https://sealevel.nasa.gov
News Media Contacts
Jane J. Lee / Andrew Wang
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
818-354-0307 / 626-379-6874
jane.j.lee@jpl.nasa.gov / andrew.wang@jpl.nasa.gov
2025-036
Share
Details
Last Updated Mar 13, 2025 Related Terms
Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich Satellite Climate Science Jet Propulsion Laboratory Oceans Explore More
6 min read Cosmic Mapmaker: NASA’s SPHEREx Space Telescope Ready to Launch
Article 6 days ago 5 min read NASA Turns Off 2 Voyager Science Instruments to Extend Mission
Article 1 week ago 3 min read University High Knows the Answers at NASA JPL Regional Science Bowl
Article 1 week ago Keep Exploring Discover Related Topics
Missions
Humans in Space
Climate Change
Solar System
View the full article
-
By NASA
4 Min Read NASA Cameras on Blue Ghost Capture First-of-its-Kind Moon Landing Footage
This compressed, resolution-limited video features a preliminary sequence of the Blue Ghost final descent and landing that NASA researchers stitched together from SCALPSS 1.1’s four short-focal-length cameras, which were capturing photos at 8 frames per second. Altitude data is approximate. Credits: NASA/Olivia Tyrrell A team at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, has captured first-of-its-kind imagery of a lunar lander’s engine plumes interacting with the Moon’s surface, a key piece of data as trips to the Moon increase in the coming years under the agency’s Artemis campaign.
The Stereo Cameras for Lunar-Plume Surface Studies (SCALPSS) 1.1 instrument took the images during the descent and successful soft landing of Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost lunar lander on the Moon’s Mare Crisium region on March 2, as part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative.
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
This compressed, resolution-limited video features a preliminary sequence of the Blue Ghost final descent and landing that NASA researchers stitched together from SCALPSS 1.1’s four short-focal-length cameras, which were capturing photos at 8 frames per second. Altitude data is approximate.NASA/Olivia Tyrrell The compressed, resolution-limited video features a preliminary sequence that NASA researchers stitched together from SCALPSS 1.1’s four short-focal-length cameras, which were capturing photos at 8 frames per second during the descent and landing.
The sequence, using approximate altitude data, begins roughly 91 feet (28 meters) above the surface. The descent images show evidence that the onset of the interaction between Blue Ghost’s reaction control thruster plumes and the surface begins at roughly 49 feet (15 meters). As the descent continues, the interaction becomes increasingly complex, with the plumes vigorously kicking up the lunar dust, soil and rocks — collectively known as regolith. After touchdown, the thrusters shut off and the dust settles. The lander levels a bit and the lunar terrain beneath and immediately around it becomes visible.
Although the data is still preliminary, the 3000-plus images we captured appear to contain exactly the type of information we were hoping for…
Rob Maddock
SCALPSS project manager
“Although the data is still preliminary, the 3000-plus images we captured appear to contain exactly the type of information we were hoping for in order to better understand plume-surface interaction and learn how to accurately model the phenomenon based on the number, size, thrust and configuration of the engines,” said Rob Maddock, SCALPSS project manager. “The data is vital to reducing risk in the design and operation of future lunar landers as well as surface infrastructure that may be in the vicinity. We have an absolutely amazing team of scientists and engineers, and I couldn’t be prouder of each and every one of them.”
As trips to the Moon increase and the number of payloads touching down in proximity to one another grows, scientists and engineers need to accurately predict the effects of landings. Data from SCALPSS will better inform future robotic and crewed Moon landings.
The SCALPSS 1.1 technology includes six cameras in all, four short focal length and two long focal length. The long-focal-length cameras allowed the instrument to begin taking images at a higher altitude, prior to the onset of the plume-surface interaction, to provide a more accurate before-and-after comparison of the surface. Using a technique called stereo photogrammetry, the team will later combine the overlapping images – one set from the long-focal-length cameras, another from the short focal length – to create 3D digital elevation maps of the surface.
This animation shows the arrangement of the six SCALPSS 1.1 cameras and the instrument’s data storage unit. The cameras are integrated around the base of the Blue Ghost lander. Credit: NASA/Advanced Concepts Lab The instrument is still operating on the Moon and as the light and shadows move during the long lunar day, it will see more surface details under and immediately around the lander. The team also hopes to capture images during the transition to lunar night to observe how the dust responds to the change.
“The successful SCALPSS operation is a key step in gathering fundamental knowledge about landing and operating on the Moon, and this technology is already providing data that could inform future missions,” said Michelle Munk, SCALPSS principal investigator.
The successful SCALPSS operation is a key step in gathering fundamental knowledge about landing and operating on the Moon, and this technology is already providing data that could inform future missions
Michelle Munk
SCALPSS principal investigator
It will take the team several months to fully process the data from the Blue Ghost landing. They plan to issue raw images from SCALPSS 1.1 publicly through NASA’s Planetary Data System within six months.
The team is already preparing for its next flight on Blue Origin’s Blue Moon lander, scheduled to launch later this year. The next version of SCALPSS is undergoing thermal vacuum testing at NASA Langley ahead of a late-March delivery to Blue Origin.
The SCALPSS 1.1 project is funded by the Space Technology Mission Directorate’s Game Changing Development program.
NASA is working with several American companies to deliver science and technology to the lunar surface under the CLPS initiative. Through this opportunity, various companies from a select group of vendors bid on delivering payloads for NASA including everything from payload integration and operations, to launching from Earth and landing on the surface of the Moon.
About the Author
Joe Atkinson
Public Affairs Officer, NASA Langley Research Center
Share
Details
Last Updated Mar 13, 2025 Related Terms
General Explore More
4 min read Five Facts About NASA’s Moon Bound Technology
Article 2 weeks ago 6 min read Ten NASA Science, Tech Instruments Flying to Moon on Firefly Lander
Article 2 months ago 3 min read Electrodynamic Dust Shield Heading to Moon on Firefly Lander
Article 2 months ago Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA
Missions
Humans in Space
Climate Change
Solar System
View the full article
-
By NASA
4 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
El avión de investigación F-15D de la NASA está posicionado junto al X-59 durante las pruebas de compatibilidad electromagnética en la Planta 42 de las Fuerzas Aéreas de EE.UU. en Palmdale, California. Los investigadores activaron el radar, el transpondedor de banda C y las radios del F-15D a diferentes distancias del X-59 para evaluar las posibles interferencias electromagnéticas con los sistemas críticos de vuelo de la aeronave, garantizando que el X-59 pueda operar de forma segura con otras aeronaves. Estas pruebas demostraron que la integración de la aeronave está madurando y superó un importante obstáculo que la acerca un paso más al primer vuelo.NASA/Carla Thomas Read this story in English here.
El silencioso avión supersónico de investigación X-59 de la NASA ha superado las pruebas electromagnéticas, confirmando que sus sistemas funcionarán juntos de forma segura y sin interferencias a través de diferentes escenarios.
“Alcanzar esta fase demuestra que la integración de la aeronave está avanzando,” dijo Yohan Lin, jefe de aviónica del X-59 de la NASA. “Es emocionante ver el progreso, sabiendo que hemos superado un gran obstáculo que nos acerca al primer vuelo del X-59.”
Las interferencias electromagnéticas ocurren cuando una fuente de campo eléctrico o magnético afecta a las operaciones de una aeronave, pudiendo afectar la seguridad. Estas interferencias, ya sean de una fuente externa o de los propios equipos de la aeronave, pueden alterar las señales electrónicas que controlan los sistemas críticos – similar a los efectos que produce la estática en un radio de un aparato emisor cercano, como un teléfono.
Las pruebas, realizadas en las instalaciones del contratista Lockheed Martin Skunk Works en Palmdale, California, garantizaron que los sistemas de a bordo del X-59 – como radios, equipos de navegación y sensores – no interfirieran entre sí ni causaran problemas inesperados. Durante estas pruebas, los ingenieros activaron cada sistema de la aeronave uno a la vez mientras monitoreaba los otros sistemas para detectar posibles interferencias.
El avión supersónico silencioso de investigación X-59 de la NASA ha superado con éxito las pruebas de interferencia electromagnética (EMI, por su acrónimo ingles) en Lockheed Martin Skunk Works, en Palmdale (California). Durante las pruebas EMI, el equipo examinó cada uno de los sistemas electrónicos internos del X-59, asegurándose de que funcionaban entre sí sin interferencias. El X-59 está diseñado para volar más rápido que la velocidad del sonido, reduciendo el estruendo fuerte a un estampido sónico más silencioso.NASA/Carla Thomas “Estas pruebas nos ayudaron a determinar si los sistemas del X-59 interfieren entre sí,” explicó Lin. “En esencia, activamos un sistema y monitorizamos el otro para detectar ruidos, fallos o errores.”
El X-59 generará un estampido más silencioso en lugar de un estruendo fuerte mientras vuela más rápido que la velocidad del sonido. La aeronave es la pieza central de la misión Quesst de la NASA, que proporcionará a los reguladores información que podría ayudar a levantar las prohibiciones actuales de los vuelos supersónicos comerciales sobre tierra. Actualmente, la aeronave está siendo sometida a pruebas en tierra para garantizar su seguridad y rendimiento. Recientemente se han completado con éxito una serie de pruebas de motor. Las pruebas de interferencias electromagnéticas para examinar los sistemas electrónicos internos del X-59 siguieron.
En otras pruebas de interferencias electromagnéticas, el equipo examinó el funcionamiento del tren de aterrizaje del X-59, asegurándose de que este componente crítico puede extenderse y retraerse sin afectar a otros sistemas. También probaron que el cierre de interruptor de combustible funcionara correctamente sin interferencias.
Durante estas pruebas también se evaluó la compatibilidad electromagnética, para garantizar que los sistemas del X-59 funcionen correctamente cuando eventualmente vuele cerca de aviones de investigación de la NASA.
El piloto de pruebas de la NASA Jim Less se prepara para salir de la cabina del silencioso avión supersónico X-59 entre las pruebas de interferencia electromagnética (EMI). Las pruebas EMI garantizan el correcto funcionamiento de los sistemas del avión en diversas condiciones de radiación electromagnética. El X-59 es la pieza central de la misión Quesst de la NASA, diseñada para demostrar la tecnología supersónica.NASA/Carla Thomas Los investigadores colocaron el X-59 en el suelo frente al F-15D de la NASA, a una distancia de 47 pies y luego a 500 pies. La proximidad de las dos aeronaves reproducía las condiciones necesarias para que el F-15D utilice una sonda especial para recopilar mediciones sobre las ondas de choque que producirá el X-59.
“Queremos confirmar que hay compatibilidad entre los dos aviones, incluso a corta distancia,” dijo Lin.
Para las pruebas de compatibilidad electromagnética, el equipo encendió el motor del X-59 al mismo tiempo que encendía el radar del F-15D, el transpondedor de radar de banda C y los radios. Los datos del X-59 se transmitieron al Centro de Operaciones Móviles de la NASA, donde el personal de la sala de control y los ingenieros observaron si se producían anomalías.
“Lo primero que hay que hacer es descubrir cualquier posible interferencia electromagnética o problema de compatibilidad electromagnética en tierra,” explica Lin. “Esto reduce el riesgo y nos asegura que no nos enteremos de los problemas en el aire.”
Ahora que han concluido las pruebas electromagnéticas, el X-59 está listo para pasar a las pruebas de pájaro de hierro virtual (una estructura que se utiliza para probar los sistemas de una aeronave en un laboratorio, simulando un vuelo real), en las que se introducirán datos en el avión bajo condiciones normales y de fallo, y después a las pruebas de rodaje antes del vuelo.
Artículo Traducido por: Priscila Valdez
Share
Details
Last Updated Mar 12, 2025 EditorDede DiniusContactNicolas Cholulanicolas.h.cholula@nasa.govLocationArmstrong Flight Research Center Related Terms
NASA en español Aeronáutica Explore More
11 min read La NASA identifica causa de pérdida de material del escudo térmico de Orion de Artemis I
Article 3 months ago 8 min read Preguntas frecuentes: La verdadera historia del cuidado de la salud de los astronautas en el espacio
Article 4 months ago 4 min read El X-59 enciende su motor por primera vez rumbo al despegue
Article 4 months ago Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA
Armstrong Flight Research Center
Aeronautics
Integrated Aviation Systems Program
Supersonic Flight
View the full article
-
By NASA
5 min read
NASA’s Record-Shattering, Theory-Breaking MMS Mission Turns 10
Since its launch on March 12, 2015, NASA’s MMS, or Magnetospheric Multiscale, mission has been rewriting our understanding of a key physical process that is important across the universe, from black holes to the Sun to Earth’s protective magnetic field.
This process, called magnetic reconnection, occurs when magnetic field lines tangle and explosively realign, flinging away nearby particles. Around Earth, a single magnetic reconnection event can release as much energy in a couple of hours as the entire United States uses in a day.
Over the past 10 years, thousands of research papers with discoveries by MMS have enabled a wide range of technical and scientific advances, such as those about the conditions on the Sun that create space weather, which can impact technology and communications at Earth. It has also enabled insights for fusion energy technologies.
“The MMS mission has been a very important asset in NASA’s heliophysics fleet observatory,” said Guan Le, MMS mission lead at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. “It has utterly changed how we understand magnetic reconnection.”
An infographic noting the accomplishments of NASA’s Magnetospheric Multiscale mission after 10 years in space. NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Kristen Perrin Studying magnetic reconnection is key to understanding where this energy goes and how it can affect us down on the ground.
“The MMS mission not only studies universal physical processes, but it also allows us to probe the mechanisms that connect big eruptions on the Sun to things we experience on Earth, such as auroras, geomagnetic storms, and even power outages in extreme cases,” said Kevin Genestreti, MMS science deputy principal investigator and lead scientist at Southwest Research Institute’s Space Sector in Durham, New Hampshire.
The Perfect Laboratory
Using four identical spacecraft, MMS studies magnetic reconnection while traveling in a long, oval-shaped orbit around Earth — a perfect laboratory for closely studying magnetic reconnection.
“You can measure reconnection in a laboratory, but the scales are so very small there that you can’t make the detailed measurements needed to really understand reconnection,” said Jim Burch, principal investigator for MMS at the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas.
Magnetic reconnection primarily happens in two locations around Earth, one located on the side facing the Sun, and another behind Earth farther away from the Sun. In their orbit, the four MMS spacecraft repeatedly pass through these key locations.
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that
supports HTML5 video
This artist’s concept shows magnetic reconnection at Earth during a solar storm. NASA Goddard’s Conceptual Image Lab/Krystofer Kim Before MMS, scientists only had a limited understanding of magnetic reconnection. But by improving instrument measurement speeds tenfold, MMS has been able to dramatically reshape what we know about the process. To date, MMS data has led to over 1,500 published scientific articles.
“For example, it turned out that the basic theory of reconnection in turbulent regions was wrong because previous missions couldn’t make observations at the level MMS can,” Burch said. “We also found reconnection in a lot of places that weren’t predicted.”
Working out new and refined theories of magnetic reconnection was an integral part of the MMS mission from the outset.
“One of the truly groundbreaking findings from MMS is that the heart of reconnection has a well-ordered beat – even if everything around is turbulent,” said Michael Hesse, MMS theory and modeling lead at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley. “This shows that precision measurement can decide between competing theories.”
Enabling Breakthroughs for Science and Scientists
The mission’s successes have also been a boon to young scientists, who are closely involved with the mission at all levels.
“In addition to its scientific achievements, it has also helped almost 50 students get doctorate degrees and enabled early career scientists to grow into leadership positions,” Le said.
To foster young scientists, MMS provides early career research grants to team members. The MMS team also created “Leads In-Training” roles to bring early career scientists to the table for big mission decisions and provide them the experience they need to move into leadership positions. The program has been so successful it is now required for all NASA Heliophysics missions.
Breaking Records
Beyond its scientific achievements, MMS also holds several records. Only months after launch, MMS received its first Guinness World Record for highest GPS fix at 44,000 miles above Earth. It would later shatter this record as it moved into a longer orbit, taking it 116,300 miles — halfway to the Moon — away from GPS transponders at Earth. GPS is designed to send signals down toward Earth, so using it in space, where signals are weak, is challenging. By using GPS at high altitudes, MMS has shown its potential for other applications.
“This GPS demonstration has been of great interest for the developers of the Artemis missions, which is testing GPS at lunar distances,” said Jim Clapsadle, MMS mission director at NASA Goddard.
The mission also holds the Guinness World Record for smallest satellite formation, with just 2.6 miles between spacecraft. Over the years, MMS’ four spacecraft have flown in lines and pyramid-shaped formations from 5 to 100 miles across to help scientists study magnetic reconnection on a range of scales. In that time, the spacecraft’s health has remained remarkably well.
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that
supports HTML5 video
This artist’s concept beauty pass shows the MMS spacecraft flying on Earth’s nightside, where MMS continues to study magnetic reconnection. NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center Conceptual Image Lab “The hardware has proved very reliable, even now, 10 years into flight,” said Trevor Williams, MMS flight dynamics lead at NASA Goddard.
After launch, Williams and the flight operations team came up with more fuel-efficient ways to maneuver the spacecraft and keep them at their designated separations. As a result, the mission still has about a fourth of the fuel it launched with. This economy leaves enough fuel to continue operating the mission for decades. That’s good news to mission scientists who are eager to continue studying magnetic reconnection with MMS.
“We have thousands of magnetic reconnection events on the day side, but far fewer on the nightside,” Burch said. “But over the next three years we’ll be in a prime location to finish investigating nightside reconnection.”
By Mara Johnson-Groh
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
Media Contact: Sarah Frazier
Share
Details
Last Updated Mar 12, 2025 Editor Miles Hatfield Contact Mara Johnson-Groh Location Goddard Space Flight Center Related Terms
Heliophysics Earth’s Magnetic Field Goddard Space Flight Center Science & Research Explore More
27 min read Summary of Special Engage Session on “Remote Sensing and the Future of Earth Observations”
Article
1 day ago
4 min read Discovery Alert: ‘Super-Earth’ Swings from Super-Heated to Super-Chill
Article
1 day ago
6 min read NASA’s Webb Peers Deeper into Mysterious Flame Nebula
Article
2 days ago
Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA
Missions
Humans in Space
Climate Change
Solar System
View the full article
-
By NASA
The NISAR mission will help map crops and track their development through the entire growing season. Using synthetic aperture radar, the satellite will be able to observe both small plots of farmland and monitor trends across broad regions, gathering data to in-form agricultural decision making.Adobe Stock/Greg Kelton Data from the NISAR satellite will be used to map crop growth, track plant health, and monitor soil moisture — offering detailed, timely information for decision making.
When it launches this year, the NISAR (NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar) satellite will provide a powerful data stream that could help farmers in the U.S. and around the world. This new Earth mission by NASA and the Indian Space Research Organisation will help monitor the growth of crops from planting to harvest, generating crucial insights on how to time plantings, adjust irrigation schedules, and, ultimately, make the most of another precious resource: time.
Using synthetic aperture radar, NISAR will discern the physical characteristics of crops, as well as the moisture content of the plants and the soil they grow in. The mission will have the resolution to see small plots of farmland, but a potentially more meaningful benefit will come from its broad, frequent coverage of agricultural regions.
The satellite will image nearly all of Earth’s land twice every 12 days and will be able to resolve plots down to 30 feet (10 meters) wide. The cadence and resolution could allow users to zoom in to observe week-to-week changes on small farms or zoom out to monitor thousands of farms for broader trends. Such big-picture perspective will be useful for authorities managing crops or setting farm policy.
Tapping NISAR data, decision-makers could, for example, estimate when rice seedlings were planted across a region and track their height and blooming through the season while also monitoring the wetness of the plants and paddies over time. An unhealthy crop or drier paddies may signal the need to shift management strategies.
NISAR will provide maps of croplands on a global basis every two weeks. Observations will be uninterrupted by weather and provide up-to-date information on the large-scale trends that affect international food security. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech “It’s all about resource planning and optimizing, and timing is very important when it comes to crops: When is the best time to plant? When is the best time to irrigate? That is the whole game here,” said Narendra Das, a NISAR science team member and agricultural engineering researcher at Michigan State University in East Lansing.
Mapping Crops
NISAR is set to launch this year from ISRO’s Satish Dhawan Space Centre on India’s southeastern coast. Once in operation, it will produce about 80 terabytes of data products per day for researchers and users across numerous areas, including agriculture.
Satellites have been used for large-scale crop monitoring for decades. Because microwaves pass through clouds, radar can be more effective at observing crops during rainy seasons than other technologies such as thermal and optical imaging. The NISAR satellite will be the first radar satellite to employ two frequencies, L- and S-band, which will enable it to observe a broader range of surface features than a single instrument working at one frequency.
Microwaves from the mission’s radars will be able to penetrate the canopies of crops such as corn, rice, and wheat, then bounce off the plant stalks, soil, or water below, and then back to the sensor. This data will enable users to estimate the mass of the plant matter (biomass) that’s aboveground in an area. By interpreting the data over time and pairing it with optical imagery, users will be able to distinguish crop types based on growth patterns.
Data gathered in 2017 by the European Sentinel-1 SAR satellite program shows changes to croplands in the region southeast of Florida’s Lake Okeechobee. Colors in the fields indicate various crops in different parts of their growth and harvest cycles. NISAR will gather similar data in L- and S-band radar frequencies.ESA; processing and visualization by Earth Big Data LLC Additionally, NISAR’s radars will measure how the polarization, or vertical and horizontal orientation of signals, changes after they bounce back to the satellite from the surface. This will enable a technique called polarimetry that, when applied to the data, will help identify crops and estimate crop production with better accuracy.
“Another superpower of NISAR is that when its measurements are integrated with traditional satellite observations, especially vegetation health indexes, it will significantly enhance crop information,” added Brad Doorn, who oversees NASA’s water resources and agriculture research program.
The NISAR satellite’s high-resolution data on which crops are present and how well they are growing could feed into agricultural productivity forecasts.
“The government of India — or any government in the world — wants to know the crop acreage and the production estimates in a very precise way,” said Bimal Kumar Bhattacharya, the agricultural applications lead at ISRO’s Space Applications Centre in Ahmedabad. “The high-repeat time-series data of NISAR will be very, very helpful.”
Tracking Soil Moisture
The NISAR satellite can also help farmers gauge the water content in soil and vegetation. In general, wetter soils tend to return more signals and show up brighter in radar imagery than drier soils. There is a similar relationship with plant moisture.
A collaboration between NASA and the Indian Space Research Organisation, NISAR will use synthetic aperture radar to offer insights into change in Earth’s ecosystems, including its agricultural lands. The spacecraft, depicted here in an artist’s concept, will launch from India.NASA/JPL-Caltech These capabilities mean that NISAR can estimate the water content of crops over a growing season to help determine if they are water-stressed, and it can use signals that have scattered back from the ground to estimate soil moisture.
The soil moisture data could potentially inform agriculture and water managers about how croplands respond to heat waves or droughts, as well as how quickly they absorb water and then dry out following rain — information that could support irrigation planning.
“Resource managers thinking about food security and where resources need to go are going to be able to use this sort of data to have a holistic view of their whole region,” said Rowena Lohman, an Earth sciences researcher at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, and soil moisture lead on the NISAR science team.
More About NISAR
The NISAR satellite is a joint collaboration between NASA and ISRO and marks the first time the two agencies have cooperated on flight hardware for an Earth-observing mission. Managed by Caltech, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory leads the U.S. component of the project and provided the L-band SAR. NASA JPL also provided the radar reflector antenna, the deployable boom, a high-rate communication subsystem for science data, GPS receivers, a solid-state recorder, and payload data subsystem. NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center manages the Near Space Network, which will receive NISAR’s L-band data.
The ISRO Space Applications Centre is providing the mission’s S-band SAR. The U R Rao Satellite Centre provided the spacecraft bus. The launch vehicle is from Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, launch services are through Satish Dhawan Space Centre, and satellite mission operations are by the ISRO Telemetry Tracking and Command Network. The National Remote Sensing Centre is responsible for S-band data reception, operational products generation, and dissemination.
To learn more about NISAR, visit:
https://nisar.jpl.nasa.gov
How NISAR Will See Earth What Sets NISAR Apart From Other Earth Satellites News Media Contacts
Andrew Wang / Jane J. Lee
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
626-379-6874 / 818-354-0307
andrew.wang@jpl.nasa.gov / jane.j.lee@jpl.nasa.gov
2025-035
Share
Details
Last Updated Mar 12, 2025 Related Terms
NISAR (NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar) Earth Earth Science Earth Science Division Explore More
13 min read The NASA DC-8 Retires: Reflections on its Contributions to Earth System Science
Introduction Since 1987, a highly modified McDonnell Douglas DC-8 aircraft has been a workhorse in…
Article 23 hours ago 27 min read Summary of Special Engage Session on “Remote Sensing and the Future of Earth Observations”
Introduction On October 16, 2024, a special session of the NASA Goddard Engage series took…
Article 23 hours ago 2 min read How Do We Know the Earth Isn’t Flat? We Asked a NASA Expert: Episode 53
Article 1 day ago Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA
Missions
Humans in Space
Climate Change
Solar System
View the full article
-
-
Check out these Videos
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.