Context: Recently, the President of the French Space Agency, Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (CNES), in an event spoke on a wide range of topics from celebrating 60 years of French-India space cooperation to the Gaganyaan and the TRISHNA missions.

TRISHNA: Thermal InfraRed Imaging Satellite for High-resolution Natural Resource Assessment

• The TRISHNA mission was first announced during bilateral talks between India and France in July 2023. It is slated for launch in 2026 aboard a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre.

• This mission follows the successful Indo-French collaborations on the Megha-Tropiques and SARAL satellites, marking another significant milestone in space cooperation between the two countries.

• Megha-Tropiques is an Indo-French Joint Satellite Mission for studying the water cycle and energy exchanges in the tropics. The Satellite with ARGOS and ALTIKA (SARAL) is a joint Indo-French satellite mission for oceanographic studies. SARAL performs altimetric measurements designed to study ocean circulation and sea surface elevation.

Objectives

• TRISHNA is designed to provide high-resolution thermal infrared imagery, which is critical for applications such as monitoring water resources, land surface temperature, and vegetation health. The mission aims to deliver a ground resolution of approximately 57 meters and a revisit interval of around three days.

Key Instruments

• Visible and Near Infrared (VNIR)/Short Wave InfraRed (SWIR) Sensor (VSWIR): This sensor will capture imagery in the visible and shortwave infrared spectrum.

• Thermal InfraRed Instrument (TIR): The TIR will provide crucial thermal data for environmental and resource assessments.

India-France Space Collaboration

• India-France space cooperation dates back to the 1960s. A key step forward is 2018, with the Joint Vision for Space Cooperation. The document details a commitment to intensify cooperation on the satellite mission, human spaceflight, and maritime domain awareness, among other areas.

• One of the major milestones is a liaison office of CNES was established in Bengaluru in 2013. MoU on cooperation in space was signed in 2015 and an Indo-French working group on human spaceflight was set up in 2019. 

• The India-France Strategic Space Dialogue was launched in 2023 that includes both civilian and defence aspects of space. The dialogue had further identified some priority areas for cooperation, which include:

• Joint satellite ventures, such as the TRISHNA mission.

• Maritime Domain Awareness is significant for monitoring oceanic territories.

• Human Space Flight where French expertise is supplemented by India Gaganyaan mission.

• The discussion also encompassed protection of space assets and particularly in the context of China's anti-satellite tests along with other threats to sustainability in space.

• The bilateral strategic dialogue on space security was formalized in 2022, which places France in the small league of nations, along with the US and Japan who have a structured space security partnership with India.

• The French Space Days India 2023 event further exemplified the growing bond, with significant MoUs signed between Indian and French space companies.  The 2019 establishment of a maritime surveillance center in India highlighted the strategic dimension of space cooperation, particularly in maritime security.