Indian-French space agencies are collaborating on a unique project to observe and study the effects of human-induced climate change.

The satellite, ‘TRISHNA’ (Thermal Infra-Red Imaging Satellite for High-resolution Natural Resource Assessment), has been built with the hope of enabling a clearer assessment of climate change by high resolution monitoring of Earth’s surface and various environmental parameters and anomalies with competitive precision. 

Technical Contributions by Indian-French Space Agencies

The satellite’s mission is to offer detailed insights into the energy and water budgets of the continental biosphere, which are critical for quantifying terrestrial water stress and usage. Additionally, it aims to facilitate high-resolution observation of water quality and dynamics in coastal and inland waters. 

TRISHNA is expected to operate for five years and it will be placed in a sun-synchronous orbit approximately 761 kilometres above the Earth.

While ISRO has been tight-lipped about any additional details and has not disclosed the specific status of the mission or it’s expected launch date, WION news in conversation with French Space Agency CNES, had reported that TRISHNA could be operable as early as 2026, back in August last year.

Indian-French space agencies
Image Source: Embassy of France in India

TRISHNA’S objectives are multidimensional. It is built to enable detailed monitoring of energy and water budgets of the continental biosphere, aiding in the quantification of terrestrial water stress and water use.

It is also meant to provide high-resolution observations of water quality and dynamics in coastal and inland waters. TRISHNA will also assist in comprehensive assessment of urban heat islands, detecting of thermal anomalies linked to volcanic activity and geothermal resources, and precise monitoring of snow-melt runoff and glacier dynamics. 

The data collected by TRISHNA will aid the administration of agricultural water management, allowing for the assessment of irrigation water use, issuance of advisories for water savings and enhancement of crop water productivity through efficient and sustainable water management practises. Moreover, it will contribute to better micro-watershed management. 

TRISHNA will also track key indicators such as droughts, permafrost changes and evapotranspiration rates in order to handle the task of climate monitoring.

With this, society will benefit from detailed urban heat island maps and heat alerts while water water quality monitoring will aid in detecting pollution in coastal and inland water bodies. The satellite will also help identify submarine groundwater discharge at coastal fringes. 

TRISHNA will also be equipped with two primary payloads, that is a Thermal Infra-Red (TIR) payload provided by CNES which will include a four-channel long-wave infrared imaging sensor capable of high-resolution surface temperature and emissivity mapping and the Visible - Near Infra-Red - Short wave Infra-Red (VNIR-SWIR) payload, developed by ISRO, that will comprise of seven spectral bands designed for detailed mapping of surface reflectance of VSWIR bands for generating important biophysical and radiation budget variables. 

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