The main objective of the Megha-Tropiques mission is to study the convective systems that influence the tropical weather and climate. The Megha-Tropiques mission goals are as follows:
- To provide, simultaneous measurements of several elements of the atmospheric water cycle (water vapour, clouds, condensed water in clouds, precipitation and evaporation),
- To measure the corresponding radiative budget at the top of the atmosphere,
- To ensure high temporal sampling in order to characterize the life cycle of the convective systems and to obtain significant statistics.
The payloads have swaths of around 1700-200km. It is necessary to measure the above parameters for a minimum duration of 3 years in order to observe the inter-annual variability and getting an opportunity to observe El Nino-type events in the tropics.
The satellite is launched into a non-sun synchronous orbit, unlike other IRS spacecraft. This Megha-Tropiques satellite carries four payloads namely, MADRAS-a microwave imager, SAPHIR-scanning radiometer instrument, SCARAB-scanner for radiative budget and GPS occultation receiver for atmospheric studies. The major orbit parameters are:
| Altitude: | 867 km, circular |
| Inclination: | 20° |
| Period: | 102.16 minutes |
| Repetitivity: | 97 orbits in 7 days |
| No. of Orbits Per day: | 14 (approx.) |