Context:
ISRO announced Indo-French Thermal Imaging Mission – TRISHNA Mission.
TRISHNA:
- TRISHNA – Thermal Infra-Red Imaging Satellite for High-resolution Natural Resource Assessment mission
- A collaborative endeavor between ISRO and CNES (French Space Agency)
- Aim – To monitor surface temperature and water management at regional to global scale.
- Objectives –
- Detailed monitoring of energy and water budgets of continental biosphere for quantifying terrestrial water stress and water use and high-resolution observation of water quality and dynamics.
- Helps in a comprehensive assessment of urban heat islands, detection of thermal anomalies linked to volcanic activity and geothermal resources, etc.
- 2 Primary payloads –
- Thermal Infra-Red (TIR) payload: Provided by CNES, features a four-channel long-wave infrared imaging sensor.
- 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.
- It will operate in a Sun-synchronous (SSO) orbit and is designed for a 5-year operational life.
- Significance – Climate monitoring such as droughts, permafrost changes, and evapotranspiration rates; better urban planning with detailed urban heat island maps and heat alerts; etc.
SSO is a particular kind of polar orbit in which satellites are synchronized to always be in the same position relative to the Sun.
Source: The Hindu
Previous Year Question
What is the purpose of the US Space Agency’s Themis Mission, which was recently in the news?
[UPSC Civil Services Exam – 2008 Prelims]
(a) To study the possibility of life on Mars
(b) To study the satellites of Saturn
(c) To study the colourful display of high latitude skies
(d) To built a space laboratory to study the stellar explosions
Answer: (c)
