Himawari-8 and -9 will have a dedicated meteorological mission, whereas MTSAT performs both meteorological and aeronautical functions. The satellites will have a new payload called the Advanced Himawari Imager (AHI).
Table 1 shows the AHI observing bands*1. The functions and specifications are notably improved from those of the imagers on board MTSATs, and enable better nowcasting, improved numerical weather prediction accuracy and enhanced environmental monitoring. Color images will be derived by compositing three visible channels (blue: 0.47 µm; green: 0.51 µm; red: 0.64 µm)