A powerful satellite, developed by India and the United States, was launched on Wednesday to list the terrestrial and minute changes in order to anticipate the natural risks and those caused by humans.
Called Nisar, the satellite took off at 5:40 p.m. local time (12:10 pm GMT) from the Step Center de Sagé Dhawan, on the south-eastern coast of India.
The live retransmission of the event showed the members of the Applaud and hugged team after takeoff. Schoolchildren had also come to attend the launch.
Nisar’s promises
- The satellite will have the capacity to detect tiny changes, of the order of one centimeter.
- Scientists will be able to detect the warning signs of natural disasters and of human origin.
- For example :
- The melting of mountain glaciers and ice caps
- Earthquakes
- Land lands
- Volcanic eruptions
- The aging of infrastructure such as dams or bridges
Call “the surface of our planet”
The aim of this mission is to map “the surface of our planet” and “its constant and significant changes,” said Karen St. Germain, head of the NASA earth science department, the American space agency.
“Some changes are made slowly. Others suddenly. Some are substantial, when others are subtle, ”she said.
Much awaited by scientists, this mission is considered an important step in strengthening the relations between India Narendra Modi and the United States of Donald Trump.
“The most sophisticated radar”
“We will observe the formation of the earth and the movement, the swelling, the transformation and the melting of the mountain glaciers and the glacial caps which cover Greenland and Antarctic. And, of course, we will also see the forest fires, “said Karen St. Germain, calling the Nisar” the most sophisticated radar “that the United States has ever built.
KEYSTONE
A 12 -meter parabolic antenna
Equipped with a 12 -meter parabolic antenna which will be deployed in space, the satellite will photograph near the entire earth’s surface and its glacial surfaces twice every 12 days, since its 747 kilometers of altitude.
India notably wishes to study its coastal areas by following their annual development.
The data will also make it possible to orient agricultural policies by mapping crops, by monitoring plant health and soil humidity.
NASA and the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) shared the workload, building each of the components of the satellite, before testing it in southern India.
NASA contributed to the project up to $ 1.2 billion when the ISRO spent around $ 90 million.
