NISAR Testing

Part of the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) satellite rests in a thermal vacuum chamber – meant to mimic the conditions found in space – at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in August 2020. Engineers tested the hardware in conditions similar to the ones NISAR will experience in space to see how it will hold up. The SUV-size Earth satellite will track subtle changes in the planet's surface as small as 0.4 inches (a centimeter) over areas about the size of half a tennis court. NISAR will spot warning signs of imminent volcanic eruptions, help to monitor groundwater supplies, track the melt rate of ice sheets, and observe shifts in the distribution of vegetation around the world. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA24539