Wednesday, March 8, 2023; The US Embassy in Chennai announced the US Air Force’s  successful handover of Earth observation satellite NISAR to ISRO in India. The satellite jointly  developed by America’s NASA and the Indian space agency ISRO, landed in Bengaluru via a US Air Force C-17 aircraft. 

“Touchdown in Bengaluru! @ISRO receives NISAR (@NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar) on a @USAirforce C-17 from @NASAJPL in California, setting the stage for final integration of the Earth observation satellite, a true symbol of #USIndia civil space collaboration. #USIndiaTogether,” tweeted the US Consulate General, Chennai, from their official  Twitter handle.

The synthetic aperture radar (NISAR) will be used by ISRO  for a variety of future programmes; agricultural mapping, and landslide-prone areas, just to name a few.

The satellite is expected to launch in 2024 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Andhra Pradesh, into a near-polar orbit.