TRISHNA Mission

• Context (TH | NDTV): On the event of World Environment Day, ISRO provided details of Thermal Infrared Imaging Satellite for High-resolution Natural Resource Assessment (TRISHNA) mission.
• The TRISHNA Mission is a collaborative endeavour between ISRO and the French National Centre for Space Studies (CNES).
• It is equipped with two primary payloads.
  • The Thermal Infra-Red (TIR) payload, provided by CNES, features a four-channel long-wave infrared imaging sensor capable of high-resolution surface temperature and emissivity mapping.
  • The Visible – Near Infra-Red – Short Wave Infra-Red (VNIR-SWIR) payload, developed by ISRO, includes seven spectral bands designed for detailed mapping of surface reflectance of VSWIR bands for generating important biophysical and radiation budget variables.
• It will operate in a sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 761 km.
• The mission is designed for a five-year operational life and will provide a spatial resolution of 57 metres for land and coastal areas and 1 km for oceanic and polar regions.
• The satellite will use a set of infrared sensors – developed by India and France in collaboration – to monitor the temperature.
• Objective: Detailed monitoring of the energy and water budgets of the continental biosphere for quantifying terrestrial water stress and water use and high-resolution observation of water quality and dynamics in coastal and inland waters.
• It will deliver high spatial and high temporal resolution monitoring of earth’s surface temperature, emissivity, biophysical and radiation variables for surface energy budgeting at regional to global scale.
• It helps assess urban heat islands, detect thermal anomalies linked to volcanic activity and geothermal resources, and precisely monitor snow-melt runoff and glacier dynamics.
• The mission will also provide valuable data on aerosol optical depth, atmospheric water vapor, and cloud cover.

Significance

• It will help to assess irrigation water use and enhance crop water productivity through efficient and sustainable water management practices and better micro-watershed management.
• It will track key indicators such as droughts, permafrost changes, and evapotranspiration rates and help in climate monitoring.
• Water quality monitoring will aid in detecting pollution in coastal and inland water bodies.
• It will help in identifying sub-marine groundwater discharge at the coastal fringes.
• It will support the detection of sub-surface fires and the assessment of geothermal resources.
• Cryosphere monitoring will evaluate snow cover and snow-melt patterns, contributing to improved hydrological models.
• The data provided data will contribute to several global initiatives, such as GEOGLAM, the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and targets, and the Global Water Watch.

Other Indo-French collaborations to monitor Earth

• Megha-Tropiques
• Saral