Cohesive User Engagement for NASA’S Geodetic SAR Data

Use of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data has been steadily increasing over the past decade as data from sensors become freely available. In this article, our focus is on the NASA-ISRO SAR (NISAR), the Observational Products for End-Users from Remote Sensing Analysis (OPERA), and Surface Deformation and Change (SDC), and how their user engagement activities combine to build a cohesive user engagement effort for SAR remote sensing. All of NASA remote sensing data is openly and freely available through its Distributed Active Archive Centers (DAAC), and SAR data is no exception. Data going back to SEASAT in 1978 can be accessed through the Alaska Satellite Facility, NASA’s SAR DAAC. The NISAR mission is expected to significantly increase the volume of SAR data available to the end users after its launch in early 2024. OPERA project is already underway preparing high-level data products suited for end-users and will be leveraging NISAR data when it becomes available. Finally, NASA is already conducting the SDC mission study to define a mission architecture for the next decade.