NISAR — which stands for NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar — will use two radar instruments operating at different wavelengths, one built by NASA and one by ISRO, to map Earth’s changing ice and land surfaces. Globally, the satellite will be able to identify changes in soil moisture, forest biomass and glaciers, among other things.

A formidable new radar satellite jointly developed by the United States and India launched Wednesday, designed to track subtle changes in Earth's land and ice surfaces and help predict both

The "first of its kind" satellite will map the Earth's surface in incredible detail. Mission officials say it will help us better understand areas at risk of earthquakes.