India, July 30 -- The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and NASA are set to launch their joint Earth observation satellite, NISAR (NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar), today, at 5:40 pm IST from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota.

This landmark mission, over a decade in the making, represents a joint investment of more than $ 1.5 billion and is poised to revolutionize the way natural disasters and environmental changes on Earth are being monitored.

NISAR brings together the technological strengths of both agencies. NASA has provided the L-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), a high-rate telecommunication subsystem, GPS receivers, and a 12-meter deployable, unfurlable antenna. ISRO, on its part, has contributed the S-Ban...