Megha-Tropiques-1 Satellite

Subject : Science and technology

Section: Space technology

Concept :

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will be undertaking a challenging experiment of a controlled re-entry of the decommissioned Megha-Tropiques-1 (MT1) satellite on March 7, 2023.

About Megha-Tropiques-1:

Megha-Tropiques is an Indo-French Joint Satellite Mission for studying the water cycle and energy exchanges in the tropics.
Objective: To understand the life cycle of convective systems that influence tropical weather and climate and their role in the associated energy and moisture budget of the atmosphere in tropical regions.
It provides scientific data on the contribution of the water cycle to the tropical atmosphere, with information on condensed water in clouds, water vapour in the atmosphere, precipitation, and evaporation.
With its circular orbit inclined 20 deg to the equator, the Megha-Tropiques is a unique satellite for climate research that should also aid scientists seeking to refine prediction models.
The Megha-Tropiques has day, night and all-weather viewing capabilities; it passes over India almost a dozen times every day, giving scientists an almost real-time assessment of the evolution of clouds.

Megha-Tropiques carries the following four payloads:

Microwave Analysis and Detection of Rain and Atmospheric Structures (MADRAS), an Imaging Radiometer developed jointly by CNES and ISRO
Sounder for Probing Vertical Profiles of Humidity (SAPHIR), from CNES.
Scanner for Radiation Budget (ScaRaB), from CNES.
Radio Occultation Sensor for Vertical Profiling of Temperature and Humidity (ROSA), procured from Italy.