India is all set to launch its first space mission in a long time, almost after a year. EOS-01 is an earth observation satellite. EOS-01, along with nine satellites from other countries, would be launched by PSLV rocket.
This is ISRO’S first mission since the launch of RSAT-2BR1 which also was an earth observation satellite. ISRO’s scheduled launch were delayed due to the epidemic. Initially, ISRO had planned 20 satellite launches which included Aditya L1, mission to sun, Gaganyaan and similar earth observation satellites.
EOS-01 is a Radar Imaging Satellite (RISAT) which is aimed at providing all-weather round the clock service for high resolution images. With EOS-01, ISRO is introducing a new naming system for earth observation satellites which up till now were named thematically i.e., according to the purpose they served but this way, all earth observation satellites would be called EOS-series.
EOS-01 uses synthetic aperture radars to produce high-resolution images of the land. One advantage that radar imaging has over optical instruments is that it is unaffected by weather, cloud or fog, or the lack of sunlight. It can produce high-quality images in all conditions and at all times. Its makes use of wavelength of the electromagnetic radiation to capture different properties on land. X-band radars are also used that operate at low wavelengths and are considered best for monitoring of urban landscape, and imaging of agricultural or forest land. The radar images are also considered to be immensely useful for military requirements.
The launch of EOS-01 would be performed using a new variant of its PSLV rocket that has been flown only once before. This variant of PSLV does not become waste after depositing its satellite in the orbit. Instead, the last stage of the rocket, the one that remains after the satellite is separated, can acquire its own orbit and be used as an orbital platform for other onboard instruments to perform experiments in space. In effect, the fourth stage acts like another satellite, with a life span of about six months.
