February 25, 2014

NASA-ISRO to launch water-related satellite through collaboration



US space agency NASA said on Tuesday, it would launch a water- related satellite in collaboration with the Indian Space Research Orgnisation.
The NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar mission is a part of its plan to launch in the next seven years a series of satellite related to water and drought. NASA said that among others include the Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2); Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) Follow-on and Surface Water Ocean Topography mission.
The US space agency said that these satellite missions join more than a dozen NASA airborne sensors focused on regional-scale issues, understanding detailed Earth science processes and calibrating and validating NASA satellites.  The US agency said that it develops new ways to observe and study Earth's interconnected natural systems with long-term data records and computer analysis tools to better see how our planet is changing.
NASA said it is scheduled to launch three new Earth science missions this year, which will contribute to water cycle research and water-related national policy decisions. The Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Core Observatory, a joint satellite project with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency scheduled for launch on 27th February will inaugurate an unprecedented international satellite constellation that will produce the first nearly global observations of rainfall and snowfall.