Bangalore : While India’s Mars Mission has set off on its maiden journey, here is another space project on the cards. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) are in talks to jointly develop a dual frequency radar satellite. The project will augment remote sensing technology infrastructure, say senior ISRO officials. In what will be a first-of-its kind endeavour, the satellite will be able to operate in two frequencies, both in bands lower than KU Band or AA-B and, a senior scientist at the space agency said. Stating that ISRO has already conducted preliminary talks with NASAS space communications and navigation program office, another scientist said that ISRO will provide the spacecraft for the project. While the US will supply the L-band, India will take care of the S-band. Commenting on the project, expected to see the light of day sometime in 2020 or later, ISRO chairman Dr K Radhakrishnan said : It will be a synthetic aperture radar. It will change the way things are done. NASA, while confirming that its office has had … initial discussions on a potential deep space communication programme, maintained that the talks are in too preliminary a stage for the US agency to comment further. Sources in ISRO said the satellite will help enhance remote sensing by improving the resolution of images. ISRO also plans to develop remote sensing satellites with more autonomy, enabling them to identify areas of focus. The exact application of the L-B and is being worked out, a senior official added. The space agencies are also exploring possible cooperation in the fields of heliophysics (physics of the Sun ). ISRO has Aditya-1,a proposed scientific mission designed to study the solar corona, in the pipeline.
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