NISAR, a joint NASA-ISRO satellite mission equipped with L-band synthetic aperture radar, began operational observations shortly after launch in late 2025. Between December 2025 and August 2026, it collected radar images every 6 days over the Kamchatka Peninsula's Krasheninnikov volcano, capturing the development and spread of lava following the volcano's first eruption in nearly 500 years. The data assembled into a time-lapse sequence revealing lava filling an inner caldera before spreading outward, demonstrating NISAR's capacity for precise and frequent topographic change detection from orbit.
The observations offer valuable insights for volcanic hazard science and potential emergency response, particularly for volcanoes with historic dormancy. NISAR's near-global coverage and resolution capabilities enabled detection of fine-scale landscape changes. While ground instruments typically monitor Kamchatka volcanoes, NISAR provided complementary broad-area monitoring without direct ground presence, highlighting its role in natural hazard surveillance.
Source & further reading
US-India Satellite Captures Time-lapse Video of Volcanic Eruption ↗Source published 2026-09-24. This report was prepared with AI assistance from the linked primary-source material. Claims and limitations should be checked against the original announcement or research.