First radar images from new Earth-mapping satellite showcase Maine coast and North Dakota farmland

September 25, 2025

First radar images from new Earth-mapping satellite showcase Maine coast and North Dakota farmland

by Marcia Dunn

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First radar images from new Earth-mapping satellite showcase Maine coast and North Dakota farmland — This image provided by NASA/JPL-Caltech on Aug. 23, 2025, NISAR imaged land adjacent to northeastern North Dakota鈥檚 Forest River, light-colored wetlands and forests line the river鈥檚 banks, while circular and rectangular plots throughout the image appear in shades that indicate the land may be pasture or cropland with corn or soy. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech via AP

NASA's first radar images from a new Earth-mapping satellite show the Maine coast and North Dakota farmland in incredible detail.

The pictures, , are from a spacecraft that rocketed into orbit from India two months ago.

The joint U.S.-Indian mission, worth $1.3 billion, will survey virtually all of the world's land and ice masses multiple times. By tracking even the slightest shifts in land and ice, the satellite will give forecasters and first responders a leg up in dealing with floods, landslides, volcanic eruptions and other disasters.

NASA said these first pictures are a preview of what's to come once science operations begin in November.

The satellite, flying 464 miles (747 kilometers) high in a near polar orbit, is called NISAR, short for NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar. ISRO is the Indian Space Research Organization.

Citation: First radar images from new Earth-mapping satellite showcase Maine coast and North Dakota farmland (2025, September 25) retrieved 30 September 2025 from /news/2025-09-radar-images-earth-satellite-showcase.html

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