NASA-ISRO Satellite Tracks Lava Erupting From Russia’s Krasheninnikov Volcano

Lava is spreading from the northern craters of Krasheninnikov, a pair of volcanoes on the Pacific coast of Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula. NASA and the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) NISAR satellite is tracking the eruption and mapping changes in the volcano’s topography from orbit.

On July 30, 2025, a magnitude 8.8 earthquake struck the nearby ocean. The powerful earthquake shook one of the two volcanoes, which appeared to awaken. A few days later, Krasheninnikov erupted for the first time in almost five centuries.

Since then, the northern volcano has produced a steady eastward flow of lava and debris. From a vantage point 464 miles (747 kilometers) above Earth’s surface, NISAR captured an image of Krasheninnikov on December 25, 2025, just as the satellite was about to begin operations after completing its post-launch inspection.

Since that first observation, NISAR has returned to the same location twice every 12 days—once while traveling from south to north and once while traveling from north to south—to collect detailed radar images.

NISAR Time-Lapse Shows Lava Spreading Across the Volcano

Researchers stitched together 17 consecutive frames collected through mid-August 2026 to create a time-lapse of the eruption. The animation shows lava filling the interior of a small caldera, fanning outward, and then spilling into a wider crater.

The sequence demonstrates how NISAR observations can track natural disasters over time, supporting scientific research and potentially helping with emergency response.

Many of Kamchatka’s dozens of volcanoes are remote but erupt often enough to be monitored by ground instruments. Krasheninnikov had not been closely monitored in the same way and had remained silent since about 1550.

NISAR’s L-band radar detected the eruption while providing near-global coverage of Earth’s surface at a resolution of a few tens of feet. Following an erupting volcano over time highlights the accuracy and reliability of the satellite’s measurements.

“Consistency is key. This high-resolution mode and two acquisitions in two viewing directions, twice every 12 days, demonstrate NISAR’s commitment to closely monitoring natural hazards,” said Cornell University geophysicist Matthew Pritchard, a member of the NISAR science team who analyzed the data used to create the animation.

How NISAR Radar Images Earth’s Surface

The detailed images produced by NISAR use synthetic aperture radar (SAR), a specialized processing technique developed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California to observe Earth from space.

As NISAR orbits Earth, its radar sends thousands of microwave pulses toward the ground every second and receives the returning signals. Each signal acts as a snapshot containing information about the properties and features of the surface below.

SAR processing combines multiple images of the same area to sharpen the field of view, similar to how a lens brings a blurry object into focus. Each pixel in the Krasheninnikov time-lapse represents an area of approximately 10 meters by 10 meters (30 feet by 30 feet), about half the size of a tennis court.

The lava appears bright because it reflects the microwave signals more strongly than the surrounding surface, which may be snow or bare ground depending on the season. In addition to the expanding lava field moving eastward, the video shows another flow to the northwest that likely formed before NISAR captured its first image.

Satellite Monitoring Is Transforming Volcano Research

When Pritchard conducted his doctoral research on Kamchatka more than 20 years ago, radar data was difficult to obtain and analyze. Satellites revisited locations infrequently, and the available images had relatively low resolution.

Today, researchers have frequent and comprehensive coverage of nearly all of Earth’s approximately 1,300 active volcanoes above sea level. Satellite images are clear down to a scale of several meters and are readily accessible through the cloud.

“We’re starting to see volcanoes all over the world that we’ve never looked at like this before,” Pritchard said.

NISAR’s Dual-Radar Technology

NISAR is the first free-flying space mission to carry two radar instruments: an L-band system and an S-band system. The instruments complement each other because they operate at different wavelengths.

For example, the longer-wavelength L-band radar can pass through tree canopies to image the ground below. Depending on leaf size, the S-band radar can collect observations of the forest canopy.

NISAR is also the first satellite to carry two SAR instruments at different wavelengths. Its giant drum-shaped reflector measures 39 feet (12 meters) across, making it the largest radar antenna reflector ever sent into space by NASA.

Accessing NISAR Data

Data products from NISAR’s L-band radar are available through the Alaska Satellite Facility Distributed Active Archive Center in Fairbanks. The center hosts and distributes NASA’s synthetic aperture radar data.

JPL, managed by the California Institute of Technology for NASA, led the U.S. component of the project and provided the satellite’s L-band SAR and antenna reflector. ISRO provided the spacecraft bus and its S-band SAR.

For more information about NISAR, please see below.

Media contact

Andrew Wang / Andrew Good
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California
626-379-6874 / 818-393-2433
[email protected] / [email protected]

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