The NISAR Mission Science Users’ Handbook (2019) defined the key scientific objectives as follows:
NISAR addresses the needs of Solid Earth, Ecosystems, and Cryospheric science disciplines, and provides data for many applications. NISAR is an all-weather, global geodetic and polarimetric radar-imaging mission with the following key scientific objectives:
Determine the likelihood of earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, landslides and land subsidence;
Understand the dynamics of carbon storage and uptake in wooded, agricultural, wetland, and permafrost systems;
Understand the response of ice sheets to climate change, the interaction of sea ice and climate, and impacts on sea level rise worldwide.