FLORIDA: NASA and India paired up to launch an Earth-mapping satellite on Wednesday capable of tracking even the slightest shifts in land and ice. The $1.3 billion mission will help forecasters and first responders stay one step ahead of floods, landslides, volcanic eruptions and other disasters, according to scientists. Rocketing to orbit from India, the satellite will survey virtually all of Earth’s terrain multiple times.

NASA and India plan to deploy a satellite that will map the Earth down to a centimeter after a launch on Wednesday from the Asian nation's southeastern coast.

A new Earth-observing satellite, built by NASA and India’s space agency, will be sent into orbit on Wednesday.