BENGALURU, 14 FEB

NISAR is systematically imaging the Indian landmass in S-and L-bands to deliver high-resolution and wide swath data with 12 days repeativity, the ISRO said on Saturday.

This data has been effectively utilised to demonstrate the generation of soil-moisture products at a high resolution of 100m, it said.

Being a key indicator of crop health, irrigation needs and drought risk, soil-moisture plays a vital role in India’s agriculture and water management, the space agency said.

An ISRO statement said the soil-moisture products, demonstrated using both S-and L-bands data, provide consistent estimates across India’s diverse agro-climatic regions, that is, from irrigated plains and rain-fed farmlands to semi-arid and high-rainfall zones.

The physics-based soil moisture retrieval algorithm, developed at Space Applications Centre (SAC-ISRO), ensures scientific robustness, reliability and accuracy, it said.

“With the ability to deliver two observations every 12 days, NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) enables near-real-time tracking of soil moisture dynamics. This frequent monitoring supports irrigation planning, drought preparedness, agrometeorological advisories, and regional water resource management at scales relevant to districts and farming communities,” ISRO stated.

ISRO said that to support national operations, the 100m Level-4 operational soil moisture products with two observations every 12 days will be systematically generated at the National Remote Sensing Centre (IMGEOS/NRSC) and disseminated through the Bhoonidhi Portal, ensuring seamless access for farmers, planners, researchers, government agencies and Non-Government Entities (NGEs).