TRACKING EARTH, INCH BY INCH

The NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) satellite, to be placed in a low earth orbit soon, will scan the Earth's surface every six days measuring minute changes down to a centimetre.

- By Ajay Sukumaran

WHAT: With each pixel capturing an area about half the size of a tennis court, it will track how quakes, volcano eruptions and landslides occur; measure the advance or retreat of glaciers and ice sheets; and monitor the growth/loss of forests and wetlands.