Earthquakes occur suddenly, often with intense ground shaking that causes loss of life and property. They and their aftershocks can induce landslides, lead to fires, and even bring neighboring faults closer to rupture. NISAR will provide measurements of ground deformation along faults before an earthquake occurs, from the earthquake itself, and in the time following, all key information for understanding where and why earthquakes occur.

NISAR will provide maps of surface soil moisture globally every 6 to 12 days at the spatial scale of individual farm fields. This offers unprecedented detail and is vital for monitoring the habitats of plants, animals and humans.