Not possible to locate people under debris using space tech: Isro chief

In view of the recent natural disasters like the landslide in Kerala, where many people are trapped under debris, ISRO chairman S Somanath on Saturday said only a certain depth of filtration is possible with space technology and could not be relied on for finding those people.

The ISRO chief was answering a question in this regard in the outreach programme organised by ISRO, #asksomanatisro on Instagram.

There are limitations of space-based sensors to locate objects that are buried under debris, which is currently an issue. It is not possible to detect what is deep under the ground from space. A certain depth of filtration is always possible by radar signals, but it is not possible to find, say, underground channels or petroleum deposits and deep minerals, added Somanath.

Answering another question during #asksomanathisro, on the Space Flight Agreement with NASA-identified service provider announced on August 2, through which two Gaganyatris' will train to be backup mission pilots,