Thermal imaging Indo-French satellite to aid climate action

The mission has among its goals high-resolution observation of water quality in coastal and inland waters and comprehensive assessment of urban heat islands

Bengaluru: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Wednesday said its upcoming satellite mission TRISHNA was designed to provide critical insights for impactful climate action.

ISRO is pitching the satellite as a marked advancement in remote-sensing technology and a potential gamechanger in helping policymakers, agro-industries, and farmers develop solutions for issues around water and food security.

Releasing details about the mission, undertaken with French national space agency CNES, ISRO said TRISHNA (Thermal Infra-Red Imaging Satellite for High-resolution Natural Resource Assessment) would deliver high spatial and high temporal resolution monitoring of the earth's surface temperature and its ability to emit heat.

The mission has among its goals high-resolution observation of water quality in coastal and inland waters, comprehensive assessment of urban heat islands, monitoring of snow-melt runoff, and data on aerosol optical depth, atmospheric water vapour, and cloud cover.

TRISHNA science data products will help assess irrigation water use, issue advisories for water savings and enhance crop water productivity, ISRO said, without mentioning the mission’s scheduled timeline.

The satellite comes with two primary payloads. While the Thermal Infra-Red (TIR) payload provided by CNES has an infrared imaging sensor capable of high-resolution surface temperature mapping, ISRO’s Visible - Near Infra-Red - Short Wave Infra-Red (VNIR-SWIR) payload tracks biophysical and radiation variables through its seven spectral bands.

Designed for a five-year mission life, TRISHNA will operate in a sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 761 km. The orbit will provide a spatial resolution of 57 metres for land and coastal areas and 1 km for oceanic and polar regions, ISRO said.

TRISHNA’s data will contribute to global initiatives including GEOGLAM (Group on Earth Observations Global Agricultural Monitoring Initiative), the UN's Sustainable Development Goals and targets, and the Global Water Watch, it said.