Recently, first external calibration experiment of Precipitation Measurement Radar (PMR) onboard FENGYUN-3G meteorological satellite has been activated. This kind of experiment is a vital link during the in-orbit testing, which can determine the quantitative observation accuracy, and lay the groundwork for final performance evaluation of remote sensing instruments and next-stage quantitative application.

The experiment will be carried out in external calibration station in Xilinhot in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. It is projected to conduct external calibration of satellite-borne PMR in myriad ways to comprehensively assess the performance of the instrument.

In the early morning of August 16, based on appropriate conditions, the experiment team successfully completed the first diagnostic test, obtained external calibration measurement data, carried out data processing and analysis, adjusted follow-up tasks and plans.

Through the external calibration experiment, first-hand analytical data can be obtained. The analysis results will be used for data pre-processing of PMR to evaluate the radiometric calibration accuracy of the instrument, further improve the data quality, and help promote the quantitative application of precipitation data.

Editor: LIU Shuqiao