TRISHNA satellite: ISRO and France set 12 to 16 month launch timeline
The joint Earth observation mission with France's CNES will monitor thermal temperatures and water resources using open global data.
What is the TRISHNA satellite launch timeline?
India and France are preparing to launch their joint Earth observation satellite, TRISHNA, within the next 12 to 16 months following a decade of development work.
Jasvinder Singh Khoral, Director of Projects at ISRO's U.R. Rao Satellite Centre (URSC), announced the launch window during the TRISHNA Water for Tomorrow workshop on Sunday, 11 October 2026. The satellite has now moved from its long-running design and planning phase into an advanced stage of physical realisation.
TRISHNA, short for Thermal Infra-Red Imaging Satellite for High-resolution Natural Resource Assessment, is the third joint satellite venture between the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and France's space agency, Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES). The two nations previously co-developed the Megha-Tropiques and SARAL Earth observation satellites.
Who is building the spacecraft payloads?
The manufacturing and scientific responsibilities are divided between Indian and French teams.
Engineers at URSC are developing the main satellite bus alongside the Visible-Near Infra-Red Short Wave Infra-Red (VNIR-SWIR) instrument. CNES is supplying the complementary Thermal Infra-Red (TIR) payload.
India's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) will carry the combined platform into orbit. Once operational, satellite data will be processed jointly at facilities in India and France.
Nagalakshmi A.M., TRISHNA's project director, said the mission will follow an open data policy, distributing scientific measurements globally without restriction.
What will TRISHNA measure?
The mission is designed to provide precise tracking of Earth's surface temperature, emissivity, and radiation variables at high spatial and temporal resolutions.
By monitoring surface energy budgeting on regional to global scales, TRISHNA will help researchers manage water resources, measure crop water stress, assess soil moisture changes, and evaluate long-term environmental shifts.
Key numbers
| What | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Launch window | 12 to 16 months | Jasvinder Singh Khoral, Director (Projects), U.R. Rao Satellite Centre |
| Development duration | Approximately 10 years | Jasvinder Singh Khoral, Director (Projects), U.R. Rao Satellite Centre |
| Joint Indo-French satellite count | 3 missions | ISRO |
In this story
| Name | Role in the story |
|---|---|
| CNES | French space agency co-developing the payload and mission. |
| Jasvinder Singh Khoral | Director (Projects) at URSC who announced the launch timeline. |
| TRISHNA | The Indo-French thermal imaging Earth observation satellite. |
| Nagalakshmi A.M. | Project Director for TRISHNA. |
| ISRO | Co-developer of the TRISHNA satellite mission. |
