REMOTE SENSING AND ITS

APPLICATIONS

Prepared by
Dr. R. Nagalakshmi
Associate professor
SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Kattankulathur
UNIT 1 – BASICS OF REMOTE SENSING
UNIT 2 – PLATFORMS AND SENSORS
UNIT 3 – OPTICAL REMOTE SENSING
UNIT 4 – MICROWAVE REMOTE SENSING
UNIT 5 – REMOTE SENSING
APPLICATIONS
Introduction
• Remote sensing is science and art of obtaining
information about an object or areas of earth surface
without any physical contact by means of
Electromagnetic Radiation (EMR).

• This is done by sensing and recording the reflected or

emitted EMR, processing, analyzing and applying that
information.

• The process involves an interaction between incident

radiation and the targets of interest.
Remote sensing in India
• The Indian Space Research Organization(ISRO) is formed in 1969

• It is the space agency of the Government of India headquartered in

the city of Bangalore
• ISRO is managed by the Department of Space (DoS) of the
Government of India
 The agencies and institutes managed by ISRO
ISRO CENTRES PLACES RESPONSIBILITY

Vikram Sarabhai Thiruvananthapuram The design and development of launch

Space Centre vehicle technology
(VSSC)
Liquid Thiruvananthapuram It is the centre for design, development
Propulsion Syste and realization of liquid propulsion
ms Centre stages for ISRO's Launch Vehicles.
(LPSC)
Development of fluid control valves,
transducers, propellant management
devices for vacuum conditions and other
key components of liquid propulsion
systems are also under the purview of
this centre.

Satish Dhawan Space

Sriharikota,
Centre (SDSC)Providing
SHAR, launch Base Infrastructure for
the Indian Space Programme
 ISRO CENTRES PLACES RESPONSIBILITY

ISRO Satellite Centre Bengaluru Building satellites and developing

(ISAC) associated satellite technologies

ISRO Propulsion Tirunelveli The cutting edge propulsion

Complex (IPRC) technology products for the Indian
space programme

Space Applications Ahmedabad It is spread across two campuses

Centre (SAC) having multi-disciplinary activities.
The core competence of the
Centre lies in development of
space borne and air borne
instruments / payloads and their
applications for national
development and societal
benefits.
National Remote Hyderabad It is responsible for remote sensing
Sensing Centre satellite data acquisition and
(NRSC) processing, data dissemination,
aerial remote sensing and decision
 ISRO CENTRES PLACES RESPONSIBILITY

ISRO Telemetry, Bengaluru To provide tracking support for all

Tracking and Command the satellite and launch vehicle
Network (ISTRAC) missions of ISRO.
ISRO Inertial Systems Thiruvananthapuram The design and development of
Unit (IISU) Inertial Systems for Launch
Vehicles and Spacecraft
programmes of ISRO.
The Laboratory for Bengaluru The design, development and
Electro-Optics Systems production of electro-optic sensors
(LEOS) and optics for spacecraft use.

The Development and Ahmedabad It is dedicated for realizing satellite

Educational communication based societal
Communication Unit applications in the country.
(DECU)
Indian Institute of Dehradun It is a premier institute with the
Remote Sensing (IIRS) objective of capacity building in
Remote Sensing and
Geo-informatics through education
and training programmes at
 ISRO CENTRES PLACES RESPONSIBILITY
`
Master Control Facility Karnataka and Monitors and controls all the
(MCF) Bhopal (MP) Geostationary / Geosynchronous
satellites of ISRO, namely,
INSAT, GSAT, Kalpana and
IRNSS series of satellites

The Department of Bangaluru Promoting development and

Space (DOS) application of space science
and technology

Antrix Corporation Bengaluru The commercial and marketing

Limited (ACL) arm of ISRO, Antrix is engaged
in providing Space products and
services to international
customers worldwide.
INDIAN SATELLITE
• Aryabhata, first unmanned Earth satellite built by
India. Launch site: Kapustin Yar - Russia
• It was launched from within the Soviet Union by a
Russian-made rocket on April 19, 1975.
• Uses: To explore conditions in the Earth’s ionosphere,
measure neutrons and gamma rays from the Sun, and
perform investigations in X-ray astronomy.
• Bhaskara-I, was launched in 1979 from Kapustin
Yar aboard the Intercosmos launch vehicle The
satellite consisted of-
• Two television cameras operating in visible (600
nanometre) and near-infrared (800 nanometre) and
collected data related to hydrology, forestry
and geology.
• Satellite microwave radiometer (SAMIR) for study of
ocean-state, water vapour, liquid water content in
the atmosphere, etc.
• Bhaskara-II
• The satellite provided ocean and land surface data.
 • The Rohini series consisted of four satellites, all of
which were launched by the Satellite Launch Vehicle
(SLV) and three of which made it successfully to
orbit.
1. Rohini Technology Payload (RTP) 1979
2. 2RS-1 1980
3. RS-D1 1981
4. RS-D2 1983
USES -Experimental satellite
IRS SATELLITE SERIES
• IRS-1A, the first of the series of indigenous state-of-art remote
sensing satellites, was successfully launched into a polar
sun-synchronous orbit on March 17, 1988
• IRS-1A carries two cameras, LISS-I and LISS-II with resolutions of 73
meters and 36.25 meters respectively with a swath width of about
140 km during each pass over the country.
• LISS- Linear Imaging Self-Scanning System
 IRS SERIES YEAR APPLICATION

IRS-1B 1991 EARTH

OBSERVATION
IRS-1E 1993 EARTH
OBSERVATION
IRS-P2 1994 EARTH
OBSERVATION
IRS-1C 1995 EARTH
OBSERVATION
IRS-1D 1997 EARTH
OBSERVATION
IRS-P4 OCEANSAT 1999 OCEANCOLOUR ,
FISHERY POTENTIAL
IRS-P6 2003 EARTH
RESOURCESAT1 OBSERVATION
OCEANSAT-2 2009 CLIMATE &
ENVIRONMENT,
EARTH
OBSERVATION
RESOURCESAT
• IRS-P6 / RESOURCESAT-1
• RESOURCESAT-1 is the tenth satellite of ISRO in IRS
series
• Launched 2003 from Sriharikota
• Launch vehicle PSLV-C5
• Payloads LISS-4,LISS-3,AWiFS-A,AWiFS-B
• ORBIT -Polar Sun Synchronous
• RESOURCESAT 2 launched 2011
• RESOURCESAT-2A launched 2016
Oceansat (IRS-P4)

• IRS-P4 (OCEANSAT) is the first satellite primarily built for Ocean

applications
• Polar Sun Synchronous launched by PSLV-C2 from SHAR Centre,
Sriharikota 1999.
• This satellite carries Ocean Colour Monitor (OCM) and a Multi -
frequency Scanning Microwave Radiometer (MSMR) for
oceanographic studies.
CARTOSAT-1
• CARTOSAT–1 is the first Indian Remote Sensing
Satellite capable of providing in-orbit stereo images.
• Launched 2005 from sriharikota
• Launch vehilce PSLV-C6
• The Cartosat–1 provided stereo pairs required for
generating Digital Elevation Models, Ortho Image
products, and Value added products for various
applications of Geographical Information System
(GIS).
• Cartosat-2 2007 CARTOSAT – 2A 2008
IMS-1 INDIAN MINI SATELLITE
• IMS-1, previously referred to as TWSat (Third World
Satellite) (2008), is a low-cost microsatellite imaging
mission of ISRO (Indian Space Research Organization).
• IMS-1 bus has been developed as a versatile bus of
100 kg class which includes a payload capability of
around 30 kg.
• USES: Natural resources monitoring / management
like agriculture (crop condition assessment and crop
acreage yield estimation), forest coverage and
deforestation, urban infrastructure development,
land use and waste land mapping, coastal features
mapping, coral reef mapping and land slide studies.
RISAT-1

• Radar Satellite-1 (RISAT-1) is a state of the art Microwave Remote

Sensing Satellite carrying a Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) Payload
-2012
• Active Microwave Remote Sensing provides cloud penetration and
day-night imaging capability.
• Synthetic Aperture Radar enable applications in agriculture,
particularly paddy monitoring in kharif season and management of
natural disasters like flood and cyclone.
SARAL 2013
• The Satellite with ARGOS and ALTIKA (SARAL) is a joint
Indo-French satellite mission for oceanographic studies.
• Marine meteorology and sea state forecasting
• Operational oceanography
• Seasonal forecasting
• Climate monitoring
• Ocean, earth system and climate research
• Continental ice studies
• Protection of biodiversity
• Management and protection of marine ecosystem
• Environmental monitoring
• Improvement of maritime security
SCATSAT-1-2016

• SCATSAT-1 is a continuity mission for Oceansat-2 Scatterometer to

provide wind vector data products for weather forecasting, cyclone
detection and tracking services to the users.
• The Indian National Satellite System or INSAT, is a
series of multipurpose geo-stationary satellites
Uses Telecommunications, broadcasting, meteorology,
and search and rescue operations.
 INSAT SERIES YEAR APPLICATION

INSAT-1A 1982 COMMUNICATION

(Failed)
INSAT-1B 1983 COMMUNICATION

INSAT-1C 1988 COMMUNICATION

(Failure)

INSAT-1D 1990 COMMUNICATION

INSAT-2A 1992 COMMUNICATION

INSAT-2B 1993 COMMUNICATION

INSAT-2C 1995 COMMUNICATION

INSAT-2D 1997 COMMUNICATION

(Failed)
GSAT(Geo-stationary Satellite)
• GSAT-1 carrying three C-band transponders and one S-band
transponder was launched on April 18, 2001 by GSLV-D1. GSAT-1 is
used for conducting communication experiments like digital audio
broadcast, internet services and compressed digital TV transmission.
 GSAT SERIES YEAR APPLICATION

COMMUNICATION
GSAT-1 2001

GSAT-2 COMMUNICATION
2003

GSAT-4,5P 2010 COMMUNICATION

COMMUNICATION,
GSAT-8,12 2011
NAVIGATION
COMMUNICATION,
GSAT-10 2012
NAVIGATION
COMMUNICATION
GSAT-7 2013

COMMUNICATION
GSAT-14,16 2014

GSAT-6,15 2015 COMMUNICATION

GSAT-18 2016 COMMUNICATION
GSAT-9,19,17 2017 COMMUNICATION
KALPANA-1
.
• It is the first in the series of exclusive meteorological
satellites built by ISRO
• Launched 2003 from Sriharikota
• Launch vehicle PSLV-C4 (Polar Satellite Launch
Vehicle)
EDUSAT
• GSAT-3, known as EDUSAT is meant for distant class
room education from school level to higher
education.
• This was the first dedicated "Educational Satellite"
that provide the country with satellite based two way
communication to class room for delivering
educational materials.
• Launched 2004 from Sriharikota
• Geostationary orbit
HAMSAT
• HAMSAT is a Micro-satellite for providing satellite
based Amateur Radio services to the national as well
as the international community of Amateur Radio
Operators (HAM).
• Launched 2005 from Sriharikota
• Geostationary orbit
Three types of orbit
• Polar orbit
• Sun Synchronous orbit
• Geosynchronous orbit
Polar-Orbit Satellite
• A polar orbit is one in which a satellite passes above or nearly above
both poles of the body being orbited on each revolution.
• It therefore has an inclination of (or very close to) 90 degrees to the
equator.
• In low altitude orbit 700-800 km
• Global coverage
• Uses: Air quality, land cover, water quality and vegetation studies.
Sun –synchronous orbit
• A Sun-synchronous orbit (SSO, also called a heliosynchronous orbit) is
a nearly polar orbit around Earth (also called geocentric orbit) in
which the satellite passes over any given point of the planet's surface
at the same local mean solar time.
Geosynchronous orbit
• A geosynchronous orbit is a high Earth orbit that allows satellites to
match Earth's rotation. Located at 22,236 miles (35,786 kilometers)
above Earth's equator
• Continuously observe same area on earth
• this position is a valuable spot for monitoring meteorological
conditions, communications.
 Principles of remote sensing/elements

1. Energy source or illumination

2. Radiation and the atmosphere
3. Interaction with the target
4. Recording of energy by the sensor
5. Transmission, reception and processing
6. Interpretation and analysis
7.Application
1. Energy Source or Illumination
The first requirement for remote sensing is to have an energy
source which illuminates or provides electromagnetic energy to the
target of interest.
2. Radiation and the Atmosphere
As the energy travels from its source to the target, it will come in
contact with and interact with the atmosphere it passes through. This
interaction may take place a second time as the energy travels from
the target to the sensor.
3. Interaction with the Target
Once the energy makes its way to the target through the
atmosphere, it interacts with the target depending on the properties
of both the target and the radiation.
4. Recording of Energy by the Sensor
After the energy has been scattered by, or emitted from the target,
we require a sensor (remote - not in contact with the target) to
collect and record the electromagnetic radiation.
5. Transmission, Reception, and
Processing

The energy recorded by the sensor has to be

transmitted, often in electronic form, to a receiving
and processing station where the data are processed
into an image (hardcopy and/or digital)
6. Interpretation and Analysis
The processed image is interpreted, visually and/or digitally or
electronically, to extract information about the target which was
illuminated.
7. Application
The final element of the remote sensing process is achieved when
we apply the information we have been able to extract from the
imagery about the target in order to better understand it, reveal
some new information, or assist in solving a particular problem.