TRISHNA Mission

Context

TRISHNA is a joint India–France Earth observation mission being developed by ISRO and CNES. The satellite is scheduled for launch in 2027 to provide high-resolution observations of land-surface temperature, vegetation and water-related processes.

About TRISHNA Mission

1. TRISHNA stands for Thermal infraRed Imaging Satellite for High-resolution Natural resource Assessment.
2. It is an Earth observation mission, designed to monitor natural resources and environmental processes.
3. The satellite will operate in a Sun-synchronous orbit at about 761 km altitude.
4. It is designed for a nominal mission life of around 5 years.
5. The mission is expected to provide a 3-day revisit at the equator, enabling frequent monitoring of surface changes.

Payloads and Observation Capability

1. Thermal Infrared (TIR) payload: Developed by CNES, it will measure surface temperature and emissivity.
2. VNIR-SWIR payload: Developed by ISRO, it will observe surface reflectance, vegetation and other biophysical characteristics.
3. Combining both instruments will support estimation of surface energy balance, heat fluxes and evapotranspiration.
4. TRISHNA is expected to provide about 57–60 m spatial resolution over land and coastal regions, while oceanic and polar observations will be available at a coarser resolution of about 1 km.
5. The combination of high spatial resolution and frequent revisit makes the mission suitable for monitoring dynamic environmental processes.

Major Applications

1. Agriculture: Monitoring crop water stress and estimating evapotranspiration for irrigation management.
2. Drought and ecosystems: Assessing vegetation health, land-surface temperature and ecosystem stress.
3. Urban areas: Mapping urban heat islands and supporting urban planning.
4. Water resources: Monitoring inland waters, coastal zones and surface-water temperature.
5. Cryosphere and hazards: Studying snow cover, snowmelt, geothermal activity and sub-surface fires.
6. TRISHNA can therefore support water management, climate studies, agriculture and natural-resource planning.

India–France Space Cooperation

1. TRISHNA continues the long-standing cooperation between ISRO and CNES in Earth observation.
2. Megha-Tropiques, launched in 2011, studied the tropical water cycle and atmospheric energy exchanges.
3. SARAL, launched in 2013, used satellite altimetry to study oceans and sea-surface characteristics.
4. Both missions demonstrated sustained Indo-French collaboration in Earth observation.
5. TRISHNA is scheduled for launch from India in 2027; earlier mission documentation identified PSLV as the planned launch vehicle.

FAQs

Q1. What is TRISHNA?
It is a joint ISRO–CNES Earth observation satellite mission.

Q2. When is TRISHNA scheduled for launch?
It is currently scheduled for 2027.

Q3. What are its two main payloads?
A CNES thermal-infrared sensor and an ISRO VNIR-SWIR optical sensor.

Q4. What is its spatial resolution?
About 57–60 m over land and coastal regions, with coarser observations over oceans and polar areas.

Q5. What are its major applications?
Agriculture, evapotranspiration, drought, urban heat, water resources, cryosphere and ecosystem monitoring.