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The Global Observing Satellite for Greenhouse gases and Water cycle (GOSAT-GW) is a polar-orbiting satellite carrying two mission instruments, the Total Anthropogenic and Natural emissions mapping SpectrOmeter-3 (TANSO-3) and Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer 3 (AMSR3). TANSO-3 is developed by the Ministry of the Environment as the follow-on mission of Greenhouse-gas Observation Satellite 2 (GOSAT-2) launched in 2018. AMSR3 is developed by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) as the Global Change Observation Mission-Water (GCOM-W) follow-on mission to keep continuity of the passive microwave observation. GCOM-W has been operated in almost 11 years in orbit, even after its nominal mission of five years in 2017. Continuous observation by the AMSR-series instruments and early launch of a follow-on instrument are now strongly desired both in science community and in operational fields. Specifications of the AMSR3 are almost equivalent to those of AMSR2. The characteristics and performances of existing 16 frequency channels are secured by making use of heritage design. Meanwhile, three high frequency channels (166 GHz, 183±3 GHz and 183±7 GHz) and 10-GHz channels with improved Noise Equivalent Delta Temperature (NEDT) are added for observation of solid precipitation and humidity and improvement in measurement accuracy of sea surface temperature, respectively. These additional channels will enhance data utilization in wide fields such as meteorology, water cycle studies, polar research, and fishery. Development of GOSAT-GW and AMSR3 had been officially approved in December 2019 and moved into Phase-C since March 2021. An overview and status of the mission are given in this paper.
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