The Oceansat-3A satellite is expected to launch before the end of this year, according to National Remote Sensing Centre Director Prakash Chauhan. He made the statement in Visakhapatnam on Friday after opening the NICES-Coastal Observation Research Laboratory at Andhra University’s Centre for Studies on Bay of Bengal. The lab was established through an agreement between the university and NRSC to aid ISRO’s Oceansat efforts. Chauhan noted the need for ground-truth data to support ocean observations and mentioned that ISRO has already deployed three such satellites. The NRSC has approved funding of roughly 10 to 12 crore rupees for equipment purchase, installation and upkeep in stages. Tools such as a high-performance liquid chromatography system, FTIR spectrophotometer, flow cytometer, nutrient auto analyser, pCO2 sensor, coulometer, sun photometer and ozonometer will examine coastal waters for dissolved inorganic carbon, nutrients, plankton and dissolved oxygen. The initiative includes research cruises along selected Bay of Bengal routes to examine ocean-atmosphere and land-sea interactions and their impact on marine ecosystems. Chauhan described Earth as an ocean planet with seas covering about 70 percent of its surface and highlighted India’s 11,000 km coastline as an asset for ocean-based growth. He stressed that advanced labs are essential for sustainable marine resource use and blue economy expansion, noting potential economic gains from fisheries and marine exports worth thousands of crores. He pledged continued Department of Space support for multidisciplinary research, international training and foreign scientist collaboration. University Vice-Chancellor G.P. Raja Sekhar affirmed plans to elevate the centre to national research status and recruit staff and fellows, opening opportunities for students in computer science, engineering, artificial intelligence and machine learning. Chauhan also delivered a lecture on space technology for disaster risk reduction in changing climate, explaining how satellite data aids all phases of disaster management. Centre Director B.B.V. Sailaja reviewed progress and emphasised the value of the new labs for oceanographic work.
