A remarkable radar system known as NISAR (NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar) is monitoring the ground beneath Mexico City, one of the fastest sinking capitals in the world. This satellite can track real-time changes on Earth from space, even through clouds and thick vegetation.
Mexico City, home to around 20 million people, sits atop a large aquifer. For over a century, excessive groundwater pumping and urban growth have caused the land to sink. An engineer first noted this issue back in 1925, and by the late 1990s, some areas were sinking over 14 inches (35 cm) each year, which has harmed the city’s infrastructure, particularly the Metro, one of the largest transit systems in the Americas.
NISAR, launched in July 2025, improves the tracking of subsidence by analyzing regions that are hard to survey from space. It operates day and night and can detect small movements in the land, ice, and crops. This is crucial for areas like Mexico City, where rapid changes challenge traditional monitoring methods. “NISAR’s measurements match our expectations,” said Craig Ferguson from NASA. He emphasized the satellite’s ability to help us understand land subsidence and rising sea levels in coastal areas.
The data NISAR collected from October 2025 to January 2026 revealed parts of Mexico City sinking by over half an inch (2 cm) each month. Areas of significant subsidence showed up in dark blue in the satellite imagery. Nearby landmarks like the Angel of Independence, built in 1910, have also been affected—extra steps were added as the ground beneath it continues to sink.
David Bekaert, a project manager at the Flemish Institute for Technological Research, echoed excitement about NISAR’s capabilities. He believes this technology will lead to many discoveries across the globe due to its unique sensing abilities and broad coverage.
NISAR is a joint effort between NASA and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). It launched from India’s Satish Dhawan Space Centre and is managed by Caltech’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. This satellite is unique, as it carries two different radar instruments and monitors Earth’s surface every 12 days using its giant, 39-foot wide radar antenna—the largest ever sent into space by NASA.
The importance of such a mission comes at a time when climate change is intensifying the challenges of land subsidence. Recent studies show that many cities around the world, including Jakarta and Venice, face similar issues. As urban areas grow, effectively monitoring the land’s movement is essential for mitigating harm. With the capabilities of NISAR, there is hope for better management and understanding of these critical challenges.
For more about NISAR, you can visit their official page: NISAR Mission.
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Earth, Earth Science, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Natural Disasters, NISAR (NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar)
