US-India Satellite Delivers Data, Reveals ‘Hummingbird’ in Antarctica

Publicly available data from the NISAR satellite are now being released, giving researchers an early look at the Earth-observing mission’s radar capabilities and one striking Antarctic feature nicknamed “Hummingbird.”

NASA says that as of July 20, the public can access data from the two radar systems aboard NISAR, the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar satellite. The files being made available come from the spacecraft’s L-band and S-band radars, and teams in the United States and India will continue releasing processed data on an ongoing basis.

NISAR is a joint mission between NASA and the Indian Space Research Organisation, designed to observe changes on Earth’s surface with radar that can help track movement over time. The newly released data are intended to support researchers and other users who study land and ice dynamics, among other applications.

Among the early results highlighted in the release is a radar view of a feature in Antarctica that has been given the informal name “Hummingbird.” NASA’s update does not provide additional detail in the feed summary about the feature, but it points to the satellite’s ability to capture distinct surface characteristics even in remote polar regions.

The public release marks an important step for the mission, since it opens access to data from both radar instruments rather than a single sensor. According to the NASA briefing circulated through its breaking news feed, the information will be updated regularly as processing continues and more files are added.

This report is based on a monitored public feed from NASA Breaking News.

Source: NASA Breaking News - https://www.nasa.gov/missions/nisar/us-india-satellite-delivers-data-reveals-hummingbird-in-antarctica/