Government of Tamilnadu

Department of Employment and Training

Course : TNPSC Group I Mains Material

Subject : Role and impact of Science and Technology in the development of India
Topic : Advancements in the fields of Remote Sensing and its benefits

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 REMOTE SENSING

The observation for the Earth from space is usually termed as remote sensing and
satellites used for the purpose are known as Remote Sensing Satellites. The Remote
Sensing Satellites (RSS) is a ‘Space-based’ Earth observation system, it is a technique
used for collecting information of any object on Earth from about 900 km above the
surface of the Earth, through the measurement of Electro Magnetic Spectrum of the
Sun that is reflected, scattered and remitted by objects on Earth’s surface. Indian Earth
Observation System operates in Low Earth Orbit (LEO), Medium Earth Orbit (MEO)
and Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO).

Most of the RSS are polar, sun-synchronous satellites in low Earth orbits (LEO) that is
their latitudinal position above the Earth is 1000, their movement is in pole to pole
direction & their angular appearance in relation to the Sun is fixed. Such an orbit is
chosen because it enables the satellite to take Earth’s pictures always at a fixed angle of
illumination by the Sun.

The RSS has the ability to provide a synoptic, view of large areas for systematic and
speedy collection & distribution of metrology, geology, geography, agriculture date
within a short time period. Thus, the RSS provides key tips for planning & forms an
integral part of resource management for the exploitation of renewable & natural
resources of the Earth.

Starting with IRS-1A in 1988, ISRO has launched many operational remote sensing
satellites. The data from these satellites are used for several applications covering
agriculture, water resources, urban planning, rural development mineral prospecting,
environment, forestry, ocean resources and disaster management. Today, India has one
of the largest constellations of remote sensing satellites in operation. Currently, more
than ten operational satellites are in Sun-synchronous orbit – RESOURCES AT- 1,2, 2A
CARTOSAT – 1, 2 2A, 2B, RISAT-1 and 2. OCEANSAT – 2 , Megha Tropiques, SARAL,

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SCATSAT-1, and Hysis and ‘four’ in Geostationary orbit – INSAT – 3D, Kalpana &
INSAT 3A, INSAT-3DR, Hysis being the latest.

Applications of Remote Sensing Satellites:

The space borne remote sensing via satellites constitute a far greater improvement
over-groundbased ‘or’ even air-borne surveys because:

1. It is cheaper & much speedier

2. It is more accurate & reliable
3. It is a multi-dimensional survey tool whereby more than one type of surveys can
be simultaneously carried out for a wide variety of application.

The remote sensing in India is an umbrella of the National Natural Resources

Management System (NNRMS), Remote sensing has been applied in many diverse
fields in India which are:

1. Agriculture: In the field of agriculture, the RSS has helped in assessing the net
crop area, Crop production forecasting, Movement of locust, Flood warming,
damage assessments. On the basics of data provided by ‘IRS-1A 1B’, Planning
Commission has divided the country into 15 Agro-climatic regions for better
agriculture production.
2. Natural Resource Management: In the field of natural resource
management, it has helped in accurately assessing the Land use and land cover
mapping, mineral prospecting, forest resource surveys, Survey of forest cover
distribution, monitoring of forest-fires etc. National Westerland Maps have been
prepared, identifying the types and extent of wastelands at the village level, for
237 selected districts spread all over the country. These maps have been
provided to the Department of Wasteland Development and district authorities
for taking up Wasteland reclamation measures.
3. Disaster Management & Meteorology: The RSS finds its applications in the
early warning mechanism for cyclones, the short-term weather forecasting, and
the warming, Monitoring as well as the impact assessment for droughts and
floods.

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 4. Sustainable Development: A major application of IRS data is the Integrated
Mission for Sustainable Development (IMSD) which was initiated in 1992 to
generate locale-specific action plans for sustainable development of natural
resources, in terms of productivity, quality of the environment and ecological
set-up. The locale-specific prescriptions are generated under IMSD using data
Iron IRS satellites and collateral socio-economic data in collaboration with the
State Remote Sensing Application Centre, Universities, private entrepreneurs
and non-governmental organizations.
5. Urban Studies: With the availability of high-resolution panchromatic data
from IRS-IC and IRS-ID, many new application in urban studies have been
carried out such as urban sprawl, structural plans for cities, guide maps for
Delhi, Bangladesh etc.
6. Defence: The equipment on board IRS systems of satellites can act as a spy in
the sky. They can pick up images of troop movements as well as deployments by
the enemy. Remote Sensing has also helped to track a lost River bed in the Thar
Desert of the country which could be used for extending drinking H 2O facility to
the population.

Some Notes on Above Satellites

1. HySIS Hyper Spectral Imaging Satellite is an Earth observation satellite which

carried a payload named Hyperspectral Imager in VNIR and SWIR bands build
around ISRO’s Mini Satellite-2 (IMS-2) bus. The primary goal of HySIS is to
study the Earth’s surface in visible, near infrared and shortwave infrared regions
of the electromagnetic spectrum.
2. It will provide a repetitive basis to users and supplementing the data from the
existing Malti spectral sensors. A wide range of applications in agriculture,
forestry, geological environment, coastal zones and inland water etc., are derived
from the satellite.
3. CARTOSAT is an Earth observation satellite that carries a state-of-the-art
panchromatic (PAN) camera that provides scene-specific spot imagery. The data
from the satellite will be used for cartographic applications like mapping, urban
and rural infrastructure development and management as well as application in

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 Land Information System (LIS) and Geographical Information System (GIS),
and DEM generation. The Cartosat-2 series is a dedicated satellite for the
defence forces to strengthen the defence military apparatus of the country.

Significance of Cartosat

1. Cartosat-2 is a remote-sensing satellite. Its objective is to provide high-resolution

scene-specific spot imagery. The images sent by the satellite would be useful for
cartographic applications, urban, rural and coastal land use and regulation, utility
management like road network monitoring, water distribution, the creation of land
use maps, and various other land Information Systems (LIS) as well as Geographical
Information Systems (GIS).
2. The satellite can provide India’s defence forces scene-specific imagery in the
military’s area of interest. Thus, India can track developments along the borders
with China and Pakistan. It can be used to identify terrorist camps and bunkers and
some enemy formations.
3. However, the Indian military wants more dedicated satellites for exclusive military
use. So far only the Indian Navy has a dedicated satellite. India has moved towards
network-centric warfare in which land, air and sea defence forces are networked
through space technology and surveillance aircraft.

This satellite series is designed and developed for the defence forces to create a robust
mechanism with their infrastructure, which includes ground stations and trained mans
power to access data. Defence surveillance will get enhanced because it can be used in
identifying terrorist camps and bunders

1. OCEANSATs are used in Ocean and atmospheric studies (like atmospheric

humidity and temperature vertical profiles from ROSA).
2. RESOURSESAT is used in Resource Monitoring applications. Resources at 2A
will give regular micro and macro information on land and water bodies below,
farm lands and crop extent, forests, mineral deposits, coastal information, rural
and urban spreads besides helping in disaster management.
3. Megha-Tropiques is used in Meteorological and Oceanographic applications.
RISAT is used for Agriculture mapping, disaster management support activities.

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4. SARAL or satellite with ARogs and ALtiKa is a cooperative altimetry technology
mission of ISRO and CNES (Space Agency of France). SARAL will aid work in
many fields like Climate monitoring; Ocean, Earth system and climate research;
Continental ice studies; Protection of biodiversity; Improvement of maritime
security etc.
5. Current, INSAT-3A, KALPANA-1, INSAT-3DR are providing meteorological data
to the user community. INSAT-3DR is an advanced weather satellite put in the
Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) and then transferred into the
Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO). The INSAT-3DR will generate images of
the Earth form a geostationary attitude of 36,000 km every 26 minutes and
provide information on parameters such as sea surface temperature, snow cover,
could motion winds, among others. The major users of the service will be the
Indian Coast Guards, Airports Authority of India (AAI), Directorate General of
Shipping, Defence Services and fishermen.
6. RADAR IMAGING SATELLITES (RISAT): It has an all-weather-imaging
sensor capable of taking images in cloudy and snow-covered regions and also
both during day and night. ISRO currently operates two Radar Imaging Satellites
– RISAT-1 and RISAT-2.
7. SCATSAT-1 is a continuity mission for Oceansat-2 Scatterometer to provide
wind vector data products for weather forecasting, cyclone detection and tracing
services.

Future IRS Launches

Following are the remote sensing satellites planned by ISRO to be launched next
strengthening the fleet of IRS satellites and widening their applications:

1. RESOURCESAT-3 – A follow on to Resourcesat-2, it will carry more advanced

LISS-III-WS (Wide Swath) Sensor having similar swath and revisit capability as
Advanced Wide Field Sensor (AWiFS) thus overcoming any spatial resolution
limitation of AWiFS. The satellite would also carry Atmospheric Correction
Sensor (ACS) for quantitative interpretation and geophysical parameter
retrieval.

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 2. CARTOSAT-3: A continuation of Cartosat series, it will have a resolution 30 cm
and 6 km swath suitable for cadastre and infrastructure mapping and analysis. It
would also enhance disaster monitoring and damage assessment.
3. OCEANSAT-3: Oceansat-3 would carry Thermal IR Sensor, 12 channel Ocean
Colour Monitor, Scatterometer and Passive Microwave Radiometer. IR Sensor
and Ocean Colour Monitor would be used in the analysis for operational
Potential Fishing Zones. Satellite is mainly for Ocean biology and sea state
applications.
4. VILLAGE RESOURCE CENTRE (VRC): Combining the services offered by
INSAT and IPS satellites, a new concept namely Village Resource Centre (VRC)
is envisaged to provide information on natural resources, land and water
resources management, telemedicine, tele-education, adult education, vocational
training, health and family welfare programmes have been established. Nearly
500 such VRCs have been established in the country.

Questions:

1. Describe the applications of Remote Sensing Satellites.

2. Write a short note on CARTOSAT and its significance.
3. Mention some of the important Future IRS Launches. Discuss.

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