International Cooperation: ISRO

• 12 Mar 2021

Why in News

Recently, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) reviewed cooperation in earth observation, lunar cooperation and satellite navigation.

Key Points

• About the Cooperation:
  
  • They also agreed to explore opportunities for cooperation in “space situational awareness and professional exchange programme”.
  • Both agencies signed an Implementing Arrangement for collaborative activities on rice crop area and air quality monitoring using satellite data.
  • India and Japan are already working on a joint lunar polar exploration (LUPEX) mission.
    
    • LUPEX aims to send a lander and rover to the Moon’s south pole around 2024.
• Agreements with Other Countries:
  
  • India and Italy have decided to explore opportunities in earth observation, space science and robotic and human exploration.
  • India and Australia signed an amendment to the MoU which will build on the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
    
    • Both countries are also in discussions for Australia to host vital tracking infrastructure to support the Gaganyaan manned space flight mission.

Few Achievements Through International Cooperation

• Chandrayaan-1:
  
  • ISRO’s maiden mission to Moon, the Chandrayaan-1, has been an exemplary example of international cooperation with its international payloads.
  • It has also earned several national and international laurels and was instrumental in the ISRO-NASA joint discovery of water molecules on the moon surface, unattained by any of the previous missions of such nature.
• Megha-Tropiques:
  
  • The Indo-French joint satellite mission called MEGHA-TROPIQUES was launched in 2011 for the study of the tropical atmosphere and climate related to aspects such as monsoons, cyclones, etc.
• Saral:
  
  • The Indo-French joint mission, named SARAL (Satellite for ALTIKA and ARGOS) for studying the ocean from space using altimetry was successfully launched in 2013.
• NISAR:
  
  • ISRO and NASA are realizing a joint satellite mission called NISAR (NASA ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar) for earth science studies.
  • The mission will observe Earth and measure its changing ecosystem and masses globally.
  • It is the world’s most expensive imaging-satellite and the two space agencies intend to launch the satellite by 2022.
• UNNATI:
  
  • ISRO has launched capacity building programme on nano satellite development, named as UNNATI (UNispace Nanosatellite Assembly & Training by ISRO) as an initiative of UNISPACE+50 (the 50^th Anniversary of the first United Nations conference on the exploration and peaceful uses of outer space).
• TRISHNA:
  
  • ISRO and the French space agency CNES have partnered in developing advanced upgradation satellites like TRISHNA to monitor the water cycle to help in finding out proper ways to utilize it.

Source:TH