JACKSON, Wyo. — A new satellite set to launch in early 2025 could provide new views of ground activity in Yellowstone National Park (YNP), according to the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory (YVO).
This week’s YVO Caldera Chronicles, written by Scott K. Johnson, Science Communication Associate at EarthScope Consortium, confirms that satellites are already used with an array of other technologies to monitor geological activity in YNP. But the NISAR mission, standing for NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar and slated for launch in a few months, has what Johnson calls “some unique capabilities” that will be of use in YNP.
The NISAR mission is a joint effort between NASA and the Indian Space Research Organization, aiming to provide “an unprecedented view of Earth” according to their official website.
What makes this effort unique is that NISAR will be the first to have two wavelengths rather than just one wavelength of radar waves that are used to image the Earth’s surface.
“NISAR will be the first radar of its kind in space to systematically map Earth, using two different radar frequencies (L-band and S-band) to measure changes of our planet’s surface, including movements as small as a centimeter,” the website states.
According to Johnson, for both existing satellites and the coming NISAR satellite, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory is currently still working on ways to improve scientists’ ability to use the acquired data to monitor YNP. This includes using different monitoring technologies to complement each other; Johnson says NASA’s effort involves experimenting with corner reflectors placed in specific locations to produce bright reflections in the satellite radar data to help ensure accuracy of the data.
And a number of GPS stations in Yellowstone used to track ground motion are part of much larger effort called the Network of the Americas, which Johnson writes is generating data that is being used to calibrate the new satellite measurements as well.
The baseline mission duration to acquire the necessary data is scheduled to be three years from its launch.
