The German radar satellite TerraSAR-X will acquire co-seismic data and a post-seismic time series of three months duration, covering the area around Sendei, Japan, in ascending (orbit 156, strip 9, incidence 35 degrees) and descending (orbit 42, strip 10, incidence 37 degrees) orbits in 3m resolution (StripMap Mode).

The data will be made available free of charge via the GEO Geohazards Supersites - http://supersites.earthobservations.org/main.php mechanism. First datasets are now accessible, and additional datasets will be uploaded regularly throughout the months of April, May and June.

Such radar data stacks will deliver valuable input for the activities of geophysical and particularly seismic researchers. The data can be used for performing long-term change detection, interferometric analysis, and for documenting even very small aftershocks of the recent quake.

Additional data of this area can be accessed via DLR's science service system - http://sss.terrasar-x.dlr.de/ - for scientific purposes, and via Astrium GEO-Information Services TerraSAR-X Services - www.astrium-geo.com - for commercial purposes.