India, France to launch space mission on climate

[Gauracandra 1]

I found the following article on CNN.com and found it kind of interesting. My thumbs down graphic is for the name they chose: Megha Tropiques. You have to admit that is not a pretty name.

 

May 11, 2001

Web posted at: 3:22 PM EDT (1922 GMT)

 

 

BANGALORE, India (Reuters) -- The space agencies of India and France signed an agreement to launch a joint satellite mission to research factors that influence weather across the globe.

 

The state-run Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said in a statement that the mission will be called "Megha Tropiques" -- after the Sanskrit word for cloud and the French word for tropics.

 

It said the mission could help study tropical changes that cause drought and floods and would be launched in late 2005. The satellite would be positioned in an orbit that would help it collect data from the tropics.

 

"The exchange of energy in the inter-tropical zone influences the climate of the rest of the planet. These systems interact with the general circulation of the atmosphere in ways that are yet to be fully understood," the statement said.

 

The two nations signed the agreement on Wednesday.