TRMM
TRMM, short for Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission, was a joint mission of NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) designed to monitor tropical rainfall and the structure of convective clouds. Launched in 1997, the satellite operated in a near-equatorial low Earth orbit for about 17 years, collecting precipitation data to improve understanding of the global water cycle and to support weather and climate research.
Its instrument payload combined active and passive sensing: the Precipitation Radar (PR) provided vertical rainfall profiles;
TRMM produced the first high-resolution, spaceborne rain measurements over the tropics and subtropics, allowing detailed studies
By laying the groundwork for global precipitation monitoring, TRMM directly influenced the development of the Global
TRMM was retired in 2015 after more than a decade of operation; its legacy endures in the