The NISAR satellite, launched July 30, 2025, captured its first Earth images, using dual radar systems to monitor changes in land, ice, and vegetation.

The NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) satellite, launched July 30, 2025, has captured its first high-resolution images of Earth, showing Mount Desert Island in Maine and farmland in North Dakota. Using dual radar systems—NASA’s L-band and ISRO’s S-band—NISAR can image through clouds and darkness, detecting changes as small as fractions of an inch. The mission will scan Earth every 12 days from a 747-kilometer orbit, providing detailed data on land, ice, and vegetation for climate research, disaster monitoring, and agriculture. Full science operations are set to begin in November 2025, delivering critical insights to scientists and decision-makers worldwide.