NASA-ISRO Satellite to Track Crops from Sowing to Harvest

NASA-ISRO Satellite to Track Crops from Sowing to Harvest
by Clarence Oxford
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Mar 13, 2025
The NISAR satellite, a collaborative effort between NASA and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), is set to revolutionize agricultural monitoring by providing high-resolution data on crop growth, soil moisture, and plant health. The mission, launching this year, aims to support global farmers with timely insights to enhance agricultural productivity and optimize resource management.

Employing synthetic aperture radar, NISAR will analyze the physical attributes of crops, measure moisture levels in both plants and soil, and provide comprehensive coverage of agricultural landscapes. The satellite will revisit nearly all land areas every 12 days, capturing high-resolution images down to 30 feet (10 meters). This frequent, detailed imaging will allow farmers and policymakers to monitor small farms in real-time or assess larger agricultural trends at scale.

One significant application of NISAR's data is in rice cultivation. The satellite will help estimate planting dates, track crop growth, and assess the moisture conditions of rice paddies. Such information will enable authorities to refine farming strategies by identifying water-stressed crops that may require intervention.

"It's all about resource planning and optimizing, and timing is very important when it comes to crops: When is the best time to plant? When is the best time to irrigate? That is the whole game here," said Narendra Das, a NISAR science team member and agricultural engineering researcher at Michigan State University.

Expanding Crop Monitoring Capabilities

Launching from ISRO's Satish Dhawan Space Centre, NISAR will generate approximately 80 terabytes of data daily, catering to various applications, including agriculture. Radar technology has been a staple in large-scale agricultural monitoring for decades due to its ability to penetrate cloud cover and provide consistent observations even in adverse weather conditions.

NISAR will be the first radar satellite to operate using both L- and S-band frequencies, allowing it to observe a wider range of surface features. These microwave signals will penetrate crop canopies, bouncing off plant structures, soil, or water, enabling accurate biomass estimation. By analyzing growth patterns over time, experts will be able to distinguish between different crop types.

Moreover, NISAR's dual-frequency radar will leverage a technique known as polarimetry, which analyzes changes in signal orientation upon reflection. This method will refine crop identification and improve yield predictions. "Another superpower of NISAR is that when its measurements are integrated with traditional satellite observations, especially vegetation health indexes, it will significantly enhance crop information," said Brad Doorn, who oversees NASA's water resources and agriculture research program.

Enhancing Agricultural Forecasts

By providing precise data on crop acreage and production estimates, NISAR will offer valuable insights for agricultural agencies worldwide. "The government of India - or any government in the world - wants to know the crop acreage and the production estimates in a very precise way," said Bimal Kumar Bhattacharya, agricultural applications lead at ISRO's Space Applications Centre in Ahmedabad. "The high-repeat time-series data of NISAR will be very, very helpful."

Assessing Soil Moisture for Sustainable Farming

NISAR will also enhance agricultural water management by monitoring soil moisture levels. Wetter soils tend to reflect stronger radar signals, while drier soils appear dimmer in radar imagery. By tracking these variations, NISAR will provide critical data on how fields retain or lose moisture over time, helping farmers optimize irrigation strategies.

The ability to assess moisture levels in both soil and vegetation will be particularly useful for understanding how croplands respond to environmental stresses such as droughts and heatwaves. "Resource managers thinking about food security and where resources need to go are going to be able to use this sort of data to have a holistic view of their whole region," said Rowena Lohman, an Earth sciences researcher at Cornell University and soil moisture lead on the NISAR science team.

With its groundbreaking technology and comprehensive monitoring capabilities, NISAR promises to be a transformative tool for modern agriculture, equipping farmers and policymakers with data-driven insights to enhance food security and optimize resource allocation.