- India and France will jointly launch the TRISHNA satellite from Sriharikota in 2027
- TRISHNA aims to monitor water cycle phenomena with high resolution and frequent observations
- ISRO and CNES collaborate on TRISHNA, combining thermal infrared and optical payload technologies
Every major Indian rocket carries a French legacy through the Viking engine, transformed into the Vikas engine. Now India and France are preparing to launch TRISHNA from Sriharikota in 2027. The mission targets a problem that is growing worse as the planet warms: water scarcity.
The partnership behind it is more than six decades old. Paris and New Delhi built trust in laboratories, launch pads, nuclear establishments and research institutions long before strategic partnerships became fashionable.
The satellite is called TRISHNA, a Sanskrit word meaning "thirst". At a time when climate change is disrupting rainfall patterns, glaciers are retreating, droughts are intensifying, and fresh water resources are coming under unprecedented pressure, the mission aims to map water resources from orbit in fine detail.
An artist's impression of the upcoming Indo-French Trishna Satellite, a water diviner of sorts in the sky
What TRISHNA Will Do
The goal of TRISHNA, or the Thermal infraRed Imaging Satellite for High-resolution Natural resource Assessment, is to deliver a resolution better than 60 metres, with revisits several times a week. That level of detail will help scientists track the local evolution of biological (water stress, transpiration), physical (evaporation, sublimation, plumes) and climatic (global observation over time) phenomena linked to the water cycle.
Scientists say the satellite will operate from a Sun-synchronous orbit more than 700 kilometres above Earth, observing the planet in thermal infrared wavelengths and monitoring surface temperatures, vegetation stress, water availability, evapotranspiration and other aspects of the global water cycle.
Prof Philippe Baptiste met Union Minister of State for Science and Technology, Earth Sciences and Space Dr Jitendra Singh
Photo Credit: French Embassy to India
Existing space-based systems offer either great detail with infrequent observations, or frequent observations with coarse resolution. TRISHNA aims to bridge that gap.
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the French space agency CNES are building it together. CNES supplies the thermal infrared instrument, while ISRO develops the optical payload. The data will cover agriculture, water use, coastal regions, glaciers, forests, urban heat islands and ecosystem health.
The implications are enormous. Farmers could optimise irrigation. Water managers could monitor reservoirs and river systems more effectively. Climate scientists could improve drought forecasts, and policymakers could make better decisions on water use and resource allocation.
The Successor To Megha-Tropiques
In many ways, TRISHNA is the successor to one of the most successful Indo-French Earth observation missions, the Megha-Tropiques satellite.
Launched in 2011, Megha-Tropiques transformed scientific understanding of tropical weather systems and the monsoon. The satellite delivered valuable information on rainfall, atmospheric water content and energy exchanges in the tropical regions. For India, where the monsoon determines everything from agriculture and water supplies to economic growth, the mission proved invaluable.
TRISHNA builds directly upon that legacy but addresses an equally critical challenge. If Megha-Tropiques helped explain rainfall, TRISHNA seeks to understand what happens to water once it reaches the ground.
"This Is One Of The Tools"
France has often been described as India's all-weather friend. Few countries have contributed so consistently across multiple sectors. From space cooperation to civilian nuclear energy and advanced scientific research, the relationship has remained steady through changing geopolitical circumstances.
The "French Connection" to India's space programme runs particularly deep. Every major Indian launch vehicle carries within it a legacy of Indo-French cooperation. The Viking engine developed in France became the foundation of India's Vikas engine, which powers the PSLV, the GSLV and the LVM-3. Over the decades, Indian engineers indigenised and upgraded the technology into one of the country's most reliable rocket engines.
The partnership extends beyond rockets. France has also cooperated with India on civilian nuclear energy and fast breeder reactor technologies. Today, the focus of that cooperation is shifting increasingly to climate change, environmental monitoring and sustainable development.
"Trust And Friendship"
French Minister for Higher Education, Research and Space Prof Philippe Baptiste, a mathematician who until recently headed CNES, described the mission as the product of decades of trust and scientific collaboration.
"Global warming is taking place now, and we really have to adapt. This is one of the tools that will be available for Indian people and for all people all over the world to really help to adapt to climate change," Prof Baptiste told NDTV.
He said TRISHNA will play a critical role in helping governments and communities understand water availability and respond to environmental change.
"To make things simple, TRISHNA will be able to really measure the level and the amount of water supply available. It's really something which is a very important question when you are talking about an environment which is changing very fast," he said.
He also stressed that such projects take time.
"Space cooperation takes a long time. Even in today's world, which is moving very fast, it takes time. On top of technological questions, there is also something which is very important, which is trust and friendship," he said.
Prof Philippe Baptiste met India's Education Minister Prahlad Joshi
Photo Credit: French Embassy to India
According to him, decades of cooperation between ISRO and CNES scientists have built the confidence needed to take on more ambitious projects.
A Launch Vehicle Swap?
Baptiste also outlined an idea for launch vehicle cooperation. India once relied heavily on Europe's Ariane rockets to launch its heaviest communication satellites. With Ariane 6 now operational, France wants to maintain and expand that cooperation, and he suggested India and Europe examine practical interoperability between their launch systems.
"India has two amazing launchers," he said.
He said both sides should build arrangements under which launch opportunities could move between partners when needed.
"Typically, when one rocket is out of commission or not working, you could use the other one and so on. These questions would make really a lot of sense. And I really hope that we can move forward on these questions."
Under such an arrangement, customers could move between Ariane 6 and India's LVM-3 depending on mission needs and launch availability. For commercial operators seeking reliability and schedule assurance, that flexibility could be attractive. It would also offer an alternative to dominant providers such as SpaceX's Falcon 9.
Gaganyaan, Students And A Year Of Innovation
The partnership also extends to human spaceflight. France is supporting India's Gaganyaan programme, particularly in astronaut training and space medicine.
Academic exchanges are growing too. Both countries aim to host 30,000 Indian students in France by 2030, with cooperation expanding in higher education, innovation, health sciences and advanced technologies.
During his visit, Baptiste met Union Minister of State for Science and Technology, Earth Sciences and Space Dr Jitendra Singh, and education minister Prahlad Joshi. Their talks focused on long-term cooperation in space, science, innovation and emerging technologies.
Dr Singh said India-France space cooperation is as old as the two countries' space agencies, progressing from sounding rocket experiments in the 1960s to human spaceflight today. He cited the Megha-Tropiques and SARAL satellites, both built jointly by ISRO and CNES, and cooperation on launch vehicle engine development as milestones. He said TRISHNA, the third joint satellite, is progressing well.
He also thanked CNES for its support to Gaganyaan, including the supply of consumables and the training of flight surgeons. Indian and French teams have begun discussions on microgravity research and parabolic flights linked to human spaceflight. He noted that 2026 is the India-France Year of Innovation, which opens new avenues for deeper scientific and technological cooperation.
From the Viking engine that became the Vikas engine, to nuclear cooperation, from Megha-Tropiques to TRISHNA, and from Ariane rockets to Gaganyaan astronauts, the story of India and France is one of continuity, trust and shared ambition.
And soon, when TRISHNA rises into orbit from Sriharikota, the two all-weather friends will once again be looking outward into space, while helping humanity better understand and protect the fragile waters of a thirsty Earth.
