NASA болон ISRO-гийн хамтарсан NISAR номлол радар ашиглан Антарктидын мөсөн бүрхүүл болон мөсөн голын хөдөлгөөнийг өмнөхөөс илүү нарийвчлалтайгаар тандаж байна.
NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) хиймэл дагуул нь харагдах гэрэл бус, харин богино долгионы дохио ашиглан Дэлхийн гадаргууг өдөр шөнөгүй, цаг агаарын хүнд нөхцөлд ч ажиглах хүчин чадалтай юм. 2026 оны долдугаар сарын 20-ноос олон нийтэд нээлттэй болсон уг мэдээллийн сан нь дэлхийн гадаргуу болон мөсөн бүрхүүлийн өөрчлөлтийг тасралтгүй хянах боломжийг олгож байна.
Тус номлолын анхны тод жишээнүүдийн нэг нь Дорнод Антарктидын Nunatak Zaterjavshijsja оргил юм. 2025 оны наймдугаар сард цуглуулсан L-диапазоны радар хэмжилтээр мөсөн голын хөдөлгөөний улмаас үүссэн хагарал болон мөсөн доорх бүтцийг нарийвчлан гаргажээ. Шинжилгээгээр хагарлын хэсгийг ногоон өнгөөр, харьцангуй гөлгөр мөсөн гадаргууг ягаан өнгөөр ялган харуулсан нь оптикийн дүрслэлд үл үзэгдэх онцлогийг илрүүлсэн байна.
Дохионы шинжилгээний инженер Сонсү Жонг-ийн тайлбарласнаар, радар нь цас болон мөсөн давхаргыг нэвтлэн харах чадвартай тул мөсөн голын хөдөлгөөн болон гадаргын доорх шинж чанарыг судлахад чухал ач холбогдолтой. NISAR нь L болон S гэсэн хоёр төрлийн радар системээр тоноглогдсон анхны хиймэл дагуул бөгөөд дэлхийн гадаргууг 12 хоног тутамд хоёр удаа бүрэн тандаж байна.
Энэхүү номлол нь хот суурин газар, газар тариалангийн бүс нутаг, газар хөдлөлтийн бүс болон мөсөн голын төлөв байдлыг өдөрт хэдэн арван терабайтын хэмжээтэй өгөгдлөөр бүртгэж байна. Энэтхэгийн болон АНУ-ын эрдэм шинжилгээний багууд цуглуулсан мэдээллээ боловсруулан түгээж эхэлсэн нь дэлхийн уур амьсгал болон гадаргуугийн өөрчлөлтийг урт хугацаанд нарийвчлан бүртгэх шинэ эхлэлийг тавьж байна.
Дэлгэрэнгүйг эх сурвалжаас харах
↓Эх сурвалжийг нээх ↓
A new radar image from the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) mission is revealing an Antarctic mountain and surrounding glacier fractures with a level of detail impossible to obtain from ordinary satellite photographs.
The NISAR satellite is designed to observe the planet using radar instead of visible light. By sending microwave signals toward Earth and measuring their return, the spacecraft can collect information during both day and night, even through clouds and challenging weather conditions.
Public access to NISAR’s data began on July 20, 2026, after nearly a year of instrument testing, calibration, and improvements to the mission’s data processing systems. The satellite is now providing researchers with a continuous stream of observations covering land and ice regions around the world.
One of the mission’s first public images focuses on Nunatak Zaterjavshijsja, a rocky peak in East Antarctica surrounded by a glacier flowing toward the ocean. The radar view reveals cracks and structures within the ice that remain difficult to identify in traditional optical imagery.
Radar Reveals The Hidden Structure Of Antarctic Ice
The image of Nunatak Zaterjavshijsja was created from measurements collected by NISAR’s L-band radar in August 2025 during spacecraft testing. The mountain appears surrounded by fractured ice, with patterns formed by glacier movement around the exposed rock.
As the glacier pushes around the mountain, stress builds inside the moving ice, creating large fractures known as crevasses. In the radar image, these fractures appear as sharp green lines, while smoother ice surfaces are represented by magenta tones. According to NASA, the image was produced by signal analysis engineer Seongsu Jeong. He explained that the radar image provides insights into glacier movement and reveals information that optical images cannot show.
“First, it’s a beautiful image, with rich details of features that provide insights to how the glacier is moving,” Jeong said. He also noted that: “because radar can often see through snow and deep into the ice, NISAR can observe fundamentally different properties of Antarctic ice than can be seen in optical imagery. With NISAR we’re seeing what’s hidden beneath the surface.”
The colors in the image reflect how radar signals interact with the landscape. Magenta areas correspond to relatively smooth surfaces where signals are reflected, while green areas show volume scattering caused by signals passing through snow and ice or interacting with rough surfaces such as crevasse walls. White regions indicate a combination of both types of reflections.
A Satellite Designed To Monitor Earth In A New Way
NISAR stands apart from previous Earth observation missions because it carries two radar systems: an L-band radar and an S-band radar. It is the first free-flying satellite mission equipped with both technologies. The two systems observe different characteristics of Earth’s surface because they use different wavelengths.
The longer L-band radar can penetrate forest canopies, helping scientists examine ground conditions beneath vegetation. The S-band radar provides information about vegetation structures, including details linked to leaf size and canopy patterns.
As explained by the U.S Space Agency, NISAR has already surveyed almost every land and ice-covered area on Earth twice every 12 days. During its observations, the spacecraft has collected detailed measurements of cities, agricultural regions, landslides, earthquake zones, sinking ground in Mexico City, and frozen landscapes across Antarctica.
A New Global Record of How Earth Is Changing
The release of NISAR’s data marks the beginning of a large scientific archive focused on tracking changes across the planet. The satellite generates data at the scale of dozens of terabytes every day as it repeatedly scans large portions of Earth.
The Indian science team at the Indian Space Research Organisation’s Space Applications Centre in Ahmedabad has started distributing S-band radar information through the Bhoonidhi portal. U.S. teams have released calibrated L-band products continuously since July 20, covering measurements collected from June 17, 2026.
Alaska Satellite Facility Distributed Active Archive Center in Fairbanks stated that NASA radar data from the mission can be downloaded by researchers and other users. Previous releases included approximately 25 sample products in January and thousands of pre-calibrated products in February.
NISAR’s observation range stretches from areas close to the South Pole to 77.5 degrees north latitude, extending beyond the Arctic Circle. As NASA and ISRO approach the first anniversary of the satellite’s July 30, 2025 launch from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in India, the mission is creating a detailed record of seasonal and long-term changes on Earth.
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