The U.S. and India just launched NISAR, a powerful radar satellite that will be able to monitor changes in Earth's surface that are as small as a centimeter.

NISAR will provide scientists with valuable data as it monitors ice-sheet changes, sea-level rises, ecosystems shifts and more. According to NASA, the satellite will scan forests and wetlands and study both human-driven and natural changes to these environments.

Unlike optical sensors, the synthetic aperture radar (SAR) at the heart of the Nisar mission doesn’t rely on visible light. SAR uses microwaves, allo