The space program of India is shifting gradually from launching satellites to practical uses which are relevant to industries such as agriculture, water management, and disaster management. The latest initiative taken by India relates to the availability of earth observation data, particularly the data collected using the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) mission.
Through its Earth Observation Data Distribution Portal called Bhoonidhi, ISRO made available the S-band Synthetic Aperture Radar data products of the NISAR mission which can be searched, visualized, and downloaded by users who have registered themselves on this portal. The available data includes the earth surface of India as well as different parts of the world.
The latest development is particularly significant because satellite-based Earth observation can provide information about land and crops without requiring physical surveys across every agricultural area.
NISAR uses both L-band and S-band radar instruments and is designed to provide wide-swath, high-resolution observations with a 12-day repeat cycle. Because radar can collect information regardless of whether the area is covered by clouds or affected by darkness, the data can be particularly useful for monitoring agricultural land under changing weather conditions.
ISRO has also demonstrated the use of NISAR data to generate soil-moisture products at 100-metre resolution. Soil moisture is an important indicator for understanding crop health, irrigation requirements and drought risk.
Satellite images can offer a much wider view of agricultural land compared to traditional field inspection methods alone. Rather than inspecting the fields one by one, satellite images can assist in identifying changes in vast agricultural zones.
The information can be utilized in order to study the condition of the agricultural lands, vegetation, soil moisture, and changes in crop growth. It would help government organizations assess crop production, monitor drought, and locate stressed agricultural zones.
ISRO has already built a well-established tradition in the use of remote sensing technologies in agriculture. There are various programs run by ISRO in the sphere of earth observation for crop acreage and production, drought, and agriculture monitoring.
One of the most significant applications of the data from the new satellites in agriculture will be the monitoring of soil moisture.
Soil moisture can be used as an indicator of the presence of water in the soil available to the plants. Insufficient moisture may be an indication of drought or requirement for irrigation, while excess moisture may be an indication of waterlogging in agriculture.
According to ISRO, the soil moisture products from the NISAR satellite can provide reliable estimates in different agroclimatic zones such as irrigated plains, rainfed agricultural lands, semi-arid areas and areas with high rainfall.
NISAR satellite mission by NASA-ISRO is specifically significant due to its Synthetic Aperture Radar technology. The radar observations can detect variations in Earth’s surface and vegetation, which will be beneficial for observing agricultural landscapes.
NISAR has proved its ability to observe agriculture areas, vegetation and water surfaces by ISRO. An image published by ISRO depicts NISAR S-band observations in Nagapattinam district of Tamil Nadu state, which has depicted agricultural areas, wetlands, mangroves, and coastal lagoons.
Another NISAR data set was taken over an agriculture area in Idaho, which has depicted variations in radar backscattering for cultivation purposes.
The development does not imply that all farmers will be suddenly given an image of their own fields on their phones using satellites.