Science & Tech · Space · 12 hrs ago
India-France TRISHNA satellite expected to launch within 12 to 16 months
India and France are developing TRISHNA, a satellite designed to observe Earth.
An Indian space agency official said on October 11, 2026, that it is in an advanced stage and is expected to launch within 12 to 16 months.
The mission is intended to help improve water resource management by measuring surface temperatures and other land conditions.
It will carry two main instruments: one developed by France’s space agency CNES and one developed by India’s ISRO.
The satellite is planned to launch aboard India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle.
India and France will process the data jointly, and the mission plans to make its science data freely available worldwide.
TRISHNA is the third satellite being developed jointly by the two countries, following Megha-Tropiques and SARAL.
The India-France TRISHNA satellite is expected to launch within 12 to 16 months, an ISRO official said on October 11, 2026.
ISRO and France’s CNES are jointly developing the satellite, which will be launched by India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle.
The mission will monitor Earth’s surface temperature, emissivity, and other variables at regional to global scale.
Its main objective is to support better management of water resources through Earth observation.
The mission will have two primary payloads, one developed by CNES and the other by ISRO.
- Who
- ISRO and France’s CNES are jointly developing TRISHNA.
- What
- The satellite is expected to launch within 12 to 16 months. It will monitor Earth’s surface and support water-resource management.
- When
- ISRO official Jasvinder Singh Khoral said on October 11, 2026, that launch was due within 12 to 16 months.
- Where
- Not stated
- Why
- To monitor Earth’s surface and support better management of water resources.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
It is at a point where, in the next 12 -16 months, we will be due for launch
We will have an open data policy where science data is disseminated to the entire globe seamlessly
The project had been in conceptualisation and formalisation.
ISRO official Jasvinder Singh Khoral said the satellite was at the realisation stage and due for launch within 12 to 16 months.
TRISHNA is expected to launch aboard the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle.
- Mission name
- TRISHNA (Thermal Infra-Red Imaging Satellite for High-resolution Natural Resource Assessment)
- Expected launch
- Within 12 to 16 months of October 11, 2026
- Partners
- ISRO and France’s CNES
- Launch vehicle
- Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle
- Primary payloads
- TIR, developed by CNES; VNIR-SWIR, developed by ISRO









