PSLV-C52/EOS-04 Mission- Relevance for UPSC Exam
- GS Paper 3: Science and Technology- Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, robotics, nano-technology, bio-technology and issues relating to intellectual property rights.
PSLV-C52/EOS-04 Mission- Context
- Recently, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully launched its earth observation satellite EOS-4 and two co-passenger technology demonstrator and scientific satellites.
- Three satellites namely EOS-04, INSPIREsat-1 and INST-2TD were injected successfully into a sun-synchronous polar orbit of 529 km.
PSLV-C52/EOS-04 Mission- Key Points
- About the Mission: The PSLV-C52/EOS-04 mission was the country’s first mission this year, in fact, it was the first mission since the failure of the GSLV F10 mission in August 2021.
- About EO-04: It is a radar imaging satellite capable of providing high-quality images under all weather conditions.
- Weight & Mission life of the Satellite: EOS-04 is a 1,700kg satellite. The satellite has a mission life of 10 years.
- Application of the EOS-04: It can be used to capture images for agriculture, forestry, flood mapping, soil moisture and hydrology.
Small Satellite Launch Vehicle: ISRO’s Indigenous Launcher
PSLV-C52 Mission: Other Two Satellites
In addition to EOS-04, two other satellites namely INSPIREsat-1 and INST-2TD were injected successfully into a sun-synchronous polar orbit. Key Details about these satellites are given below-
- INS-2DT technology demonstrator satellite: It has a thermal imaging camera.
- Application: It can help in the assessment of land and water surface temperatures apart from mapping vegetation.
- InspireSat-1 satellite: It was developed by the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology, University of Colorado, US, Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University, and National Central University in Taiwan.
- Application: This satellite will use two instruments to study ionosphere dynamics and the Sun’s coronal heating process.
Other Expected ISRO Missions of 2022
- Three satellites OCEANSAT-3, INS-2B, ANAND will be launched aboard PSLV-C53 in March and Micro SAT onboard Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) in April this year.
- The launch of GSAT-24 which is a communication satellite is also scheduled during the first quarter of 2022 aboard the Arianespace’s Ariane 5.