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Free data from Indo-French satellite

Sandeep Dikshit

Saral mission to understand ocean conditions
Data analysis can be important element of climate change

NEW DELHI: India and France will provide other countries free access to data from their Megha Tropiques satellite, scheduled for launch next year.

“We are trying to see if Brazil or those from Africa are in need of the data. That is why the data distribution policy agreement we have signed is very important. The data is expected to enhance understanding of tropical weather phenomena during monsoons,” Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman Madhavan Nair said here. “We have decided to work together on applications of space that are most useful for humankind. Megha Tropiques is entirely dedicated to that,” said his French counterpart, Yannick d’Escatha, Chairman of the Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (CNES).

Four payloads

A satellite for tropical weather monitoring, Megha Tropiques will carry four payloads — a microwave radiometer, a humidity sounder, a radiation measuring instrument and a radio occultation sounder for atmospheric studies.

At a two-day ISRO-CNES meeting in Goa which ended on Monday, the two sides decided to launch next year Saral, a small satellite mission with payloads from the French agency to understand ocean conditions. It will also carry a payload for reception of ‘Argo’ floats deployed all over the oceans.

The launch of Megha Tropiques and Saral “will be the beginning of the story. The whole story is about science — how we can improve our knowledge about the earth and climate using those entirely new data. So we have signed the agreement on data policy management,” said the CNES chief.

Dr. Nair and Mr. D’Escatha said the two sides would soon issue an “announcement of opportunities” following a “strong demand” from other scientific communities. “This is very important because it means worldwide recognition of the importance of the two missions,” said Dr. Nair.

“Tropics are fundamentally important for us in the northern regions. Our climate is completely dependent on tropical issues. The analysis of data could be a very important element of climate change. We must measure, observe and understand data before making predictions and preventing national disasters,” pointed out Mr. D’Escatha.

“The benefit will be directly for both. Our scientists are among the best in climate change and so we are very active in climate change. The tropical region is less well known than others. So we need a dedicated effort in tropical regions,” he said.

Dr. Nair said weather would be the immediate priority because the monsoon cycle originates in the equatorial belt. “Megha Tropiques will have very fine signatures of humidity, temperature and wind. The instruments too are very unique.”

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