NISAR launched July 30, 2025, and has been successfully collecting data through its Commissioning phase and into the Science phase. The calibration-validation process is underway, and a selection of pre-calibration data generated from NISAR acquisitions is available to the public.
NISAR Pre-Calibration Data: February 2026¶
A selection of pre-calibration NISAR Level-1 to Level-3 L-band products are available through the ASF DAAC. This large volume of global data allows users to develop workflows to access the data and metadata for each product type, to become familiar with the characteristics of the L-band products, and to begin working with the data in a substantive way.
The user community can prepare for managing NISAR’s large data volumes and refine their processing pipelines in anticipation of full global production and release of calibrated data in the June 2026 timeframe. Users will find a rich and unprecedented collection of polarimetric and interferometric products to explore, with fine resolution, accurate geolocation, and full of bio/geophysical features.
Product Availability¶
The February 2026 release of NISAR pre-calibration data includes a global dataset, representative of the final product distribution of all NISAR products. All Level-1 to Level-3 L-band product types are available.
This release includes data acquired between October 17, 2025 and January 20, 2026. This includes up to 8 acquisitions per track (both ascending and descending). Figure 1 displays the spatial extent of the data included in this release. For a more detailed acquisition map, see the NISAR Spring 2026 Released Data Plan.
Figure 1:Spatial distribution of the pre-calibration NISAR data products, highlighted in green, included in the February 2026 data release.
Known Issues¶
A new instrument producing global data products for the first time will necessitate optimization of the products over time. In addition, the NISAR project is still in the calibration and validation phase, and these products are not yet fully calibrated. Nonetheless, the data are expected to be of sufficient quality that most users will benefit from an early look at the products.
See Pre-Calibration Product Known Issues for a list of known issues reported for the current data release.
Fully calibrated and algorithmically improved global products are anticipated for release in the June 2026 timeframe.
Data Release Timeline¶
As of end of February 2026, the timeline for NISAR product releases is as follows:
January 23: Initial release of 25 sample data products
February 27: Released a larger volume of pre-calibration global data products
June 2026: Release of fully calibrated and algorithmically improved global products