Goa, July 30 -- In a major milestone for international space cooperation, India and the United States are set to jointly launch the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) satellite-hailed as the most expensive civilian Earth observation satellite ever developed. With an estimated cost of $1.3 billion, NISAR represents a new era in satellite technology and Earth monitoring.

NISAR will play a critical role in tracking environmental changes, including earthquakes, glacial movements, carbon sequestration, and climate change-driven events like glacial lake outbursts. It is expected to provide invaluable data to scientists and policymakers worldwide.

The satellite will be launched aboard India's GSLV-F16, marking several firsts for the In...