Muscat: The United States’ National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) today launched a radar satellite designed to monitor changes in land surfaces and ice sheets on Earth, aiding in forecasting natural hazards and those resulting from human activities.

According to Oman News Agency, the satellite, named NISAR, lifted off at 12:10 GMT from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre on India’s southeastern coast. It was deployed via a geosynchronous satellite launch vehicle operated by ISRO.

With a mission budget of $1.3 billion, scientists say NISAR will enable meteorologists and emergency responders to better anticipate floods, landslides, volcanic eruptions, and other environmental disasters.

Now orbiting Earth after its launch from India, NISAR will scan the planet’s terrain repeatedly using dual radar systems, one provided by NASA and the other by ISRO. It will operate both day and night to observe clouds, rainfall, and vegetation, resulting in an enormous trove of detailed data.

Ahead of the launch, Nicky Fox, head of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, said that this is a one-of-a-kind radar satellite that will revolutionize how they study the home planet and help predict natural disasters more accurately before they strike.