Chennai: For the first time, Isro and Nasa have collaborated in advanced imaging spectroscopy-based Earth science measurements, which will study some complex and important ecosystems of India.
Being done as part of Nasa's worldwide campaign to map Earth's ecosystem and build a global data. Nasa's AVIRIS-NG (Next Generation Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer) will be deployed in India this autumn.
Alok K. Chatterjee of Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) said India has identified some experimental targets for Airborne Hyperspectral Campaign for Earth Science and Future Space-borne Instrument Development.
"Isro provides aircraft, surface measurement and in country clearances. NASA- JPL provides instrument. This campaign will provide a key baseline data set against which to observe changes over time from future airborne and space borne efforts. This will lead to space borne global imaging spectroscopy mission in 2018 time frame".
He said the campaign was being carried out across the world to obtain high-resolution measurements of local phenomena and processes, such as ice sheet thicknesses, precipitation and air quality. This apart, Isro and Nasa are collaborating in a slew of projects.
