We have complete trust in our Indian partners: French National Space Agency
France's national space agency reaffirmed confidence in its Indian partners ahead of the joint TRISHNA Earth-observation mission.
TRISHNA (Thermal infraRed Imaging Satellite for High-resolution Natural resource Assessment) is a collaborative satellite mission between the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the French space agency, CNES (Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales).
The satellite is scheduled to be launched aboard India's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) in 2027.
The mission is designed to monitor Earth's surface temperature at high resolution to support water and food security assessments.
TRISHNA — Thermal Infrared Earth Observation
TRISHNA is a joint ISRO-CNES satellite mission dedicated to high-resolution thermal infrared imaging of the Earth's surface, aimed at monitoring water stress, evapotranspiration, and land surface temperature at a resolution and revisit frequency not previously available.
Key Details
- Carries two payloads: a Thermal Infra-Red (TIR) instrument provided by CNES, and a Visible-Near Infrared-Short Wave Infrared (VNIR-SWIR) payload developed by ISRO.
- Targeted launch: aboard a PSLV rocket from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, planned for 2027.
- Applications include agricultural water-use monitoring, urban heat-island assessment, and support for global frameworks such as GEOGLAM (agricultural monitoring) and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
- Addresses climate-driven water and food security challenges through evapotranspiration monitoring at fine spatial resolution.
The statement of confidence from the French space agency comes as the two agencies move toward the 2027 launch window, underscoring continuity in a technical partnership that has already delivered two prior joint satellites.
ISRO-CNES Joint Satellite Missions — A Continuing Partnership
India-France space cooperation began with sounding rocket facilities at Thumba in the early 1960s and has since matured into full satellite co-development, making it one of India's longest-running bilateral space partnerships.
Key Details
- Megha-Tropiques (launched October 2011, PSLV) — a joint ISRO-CNES mission to study tropical atmospheric convective systems; completed its mission in December 2021.
- SARAL (Satellite with ARGOS and ALTIKA, launched February 2013 via PSLV-C20) — a joint Indo-French altimetry mission for oceanographic research.
- CNES's ARGOS-4 data-collection instrument was also accommodated on ISRO's Oceansat-3 (EOS-6) satellite, extending the ARGOS environmental/wildlife-tracking system.
- TRISHNA is the third major joint satellite mission in this series, building directly on the technical trust established through Megha-Tropiques and SARAL.
The French agency's reaffirmation of trust in its Indian partners reflects the track record of these prior successful joint missions, all of which were launched using India's PSLV.
PSLV — India's Workhorse Launch Vehicle
The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle is ISRO's most-flown launch vehicle and the platform for all major ISRO-CNES joint missions, making its configuration and capability a recurring prelims topic.
TRISHNA's planned launch vehicle, the PSLV, is the same rocket family that carried both of ISRO-CNES's earlier joint missions (Megha-Tropiques on a standard PSLV, SARAL on PSLV-C20), reflecting continuity in the technical arrangement between the two agencies.
- TRISHNA: joint ISRO (VNIR-SWIR payload) - CNES (TIR payload) mission; planned launch 2027 via PSLV from Sriharikota
- Prior joint missions: Megha-Tropiques (launched October 2011, PSLV; mission completed December 2021) and SARAL (launched February 2013, PSLV-C20)
- India-France space cooperation traces back to sounding rocket facilities at Thumba, established in the early 1960s
- CNES ARGOS-4 instrument also flies on ISRO's Oceansat-3 (EOS-6)
- PSLV-XL configuration: 6 extended strap-on boosters, payload capacity approximately 1,800 kg to Sun-Synchronous Orbit