The ISRO participated in the Monsoon Experiment conducted in 1979. A regional component of an international study called "Global Atmospheric Research Programme" (GARP), MONEX was conducted jointly by the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) and International Council of Scientific Unions. The Indian Meteorological Department was the main executing agency in India. ISRO's contribution was the collection of data using rockets, air borne thermal infra-red scanners and reception of data from satellite.