On August 21, the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) satellite captured its first images of Earth’s surface, showing Maine’s Mount Desert Island in remarkable detail. In the image, green represents forested areas, while magenta marks hard surfaces like bare ground and buildings. The town of Bar Harbor can be seen at the island’s northeast tip.

The images mark a major milestone for NISAR, a joint Earth-observing mission between NASA and ISRO, which is moving toward full science operations later this year.

NASA said the satellite, launched by ISRO on July 30, uses L-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR) to scan Earth with exceptional precision. The radar can detect objects as small as 15 feet (five metres), capturing narrow waterways, islets, forests, wetlands, farmlands, and human-made structures.

“Dark areas represent water, while green areas are forest, and magenta areas are hard or regular surfaces, such as bare ground and buildings. The L-band radar system can resolve objects as small as 15 feet (five metres), enabling the image to display narrow waterways cutting across the island, as well as the islets dotting the waters around it,” NASA said.

On August 23, NISAR also imaged part of northeastern North Dakota, showing forests, wetlands, and farmland. Dark plots indicate fallow fields, while lighter areas reveal crops such as soybean and corn. Circular patterns reflect centre-pivot irrigation, a common farming technique.

NASA highlighted that the NISAR images provide valuable information for disaster response, infrastructure monitoring, and agriculture management. The radar can distinguish between low-lying vegetation, trees, and human-made structures, helping track forest and wetland changes as well as crop growth around the world.

“By understanding how our home planet works, we can produce models and analysis of how other planets in our solar system and beyond work as we prepare to send humanity on an epic journey back to the Moon and onward to Mars,” said NASA Associate Administrator Amit Kshatriya.

Kshatriya also praised the international effort: “The successful capture of these first images from NISAR is a remarkable example of how partnership and collaboration between two nations, on opposite sides of the world, can achieve great things together for the benefit of all.”