TRISHNA Satellite Mission 2027: ISRO-France Mission, Objectives and Features

The Thermal Infra-Red Imaging Satellite for High-resolution Natural Resource Assessment (TRISHNA) is an international Earth observation satellite program being jointly developed by India’s ISRO and CNES of France. The satellite will be launched from Sriharikota and will be capable of studying surface temperature, evapotranspiration, vegetation status and water stress with high spatial and temporal resolutions. The data obtained through it is anticipated to help in agriculture monitoring, water resource management and climate studies.

What Is the TRISHNA Mission?

TRISHNA is the Thermal Infra-Red Imaging Satellite for High-resolution Natural Resource Assessment.

It was created to provide high spatial and temporal resolution Earth surface data.

It is designed to observe the energy and water budgets of the continental biosphere, which will allow the estimation of terrestrial water stress and usage.

Key Scientific and Environmental Objectives of TRISHNA Mission

Some of the major scientific and environmental objectives of the mission are as follows,

• Monitoring of terrestrial water stress and water usage.
• Studying the quality and dynamics of inland and coastal waters.
• Detecting and quantifying the urban heat island effect.
• Determination of thermal anomalies of volcano and geothermal areas.
• Snow-melt runoff and glacier dynamics monitoring.
• Atmospheric parameters like aerosol optical depth, water vapour and cloud detection.

Such observation could be useful for climatic studies, agriculture, water management, and disaster studies.

Two Instruments on the Board of TRISHNA

The satellite will be equipped with two main instruments that will be the result of the collaboration between ISRO and CNES, France’s space agency

1. Thermal Infrared (TIR) Instrument

• Instrument provided by CNES, with the participation of Airbus Defence and Space in its development
• The instrument will be used for measuring the thermal radiation from the Earth’s surface. Four thermal infrared channels will help in retrieving data about surface temperature and emissivity.

2. Visible-Near Infrared-SWIR Instrument

Developed by ISRO

• The instrument will observe the Earth in the visible, near-infrared and SWIR bands. Seven spectral bands will help to obtain information about surface reflectance, vegetation and other biophysical parameters.
• By combining these two instruments, scientists will be able to examine surface temperature in relation to vegetation and other land characteristics that affect heat absorption and emission.

TRISHNA Orbit and Spatial Resolution

The satellite will be placed into a sun-synchronous orbit, 761 kilometers above the Earth.

The planned spatial resolution will be,

• 57 meters on land and coast
• 1 kilometer on ocean and polar zones

The mission will have a design life of five years.

Importance of TRISHNA Mission

TRISHNA’s high-resolution thermal observations may be useful in addressing emerging issues like water shortages, agriculture, urban heating and glacier melting.

It will also be a contributor to some of the international initiatives that include GEOGLAM, UN Sustainable Development Goals and Global Water Watch.

Some of the mission products are anticipated to act as Essential Agricultural Variables (EAVs) and Essential Climate Variables (ECVs).

What Is Sun-Synchronous Orbit?

Sun-synchronous orbit refers to a near-polar orbit that allows the satellite to pass over the same place at a similar local solar time each day.

This gives the same lighting condition every day, making image comparisons possible.

TRISHNA is expected to have an operational altitude of about 761 kilometers, with a local equator-crossing time of 12:30 noon.

This frequent revisit capability will help scientists observe changes in surface temperature and vegetation.