A major requirement of microwave atmospheric sounder onboard geostationary satellite arises in the area of passive remote sensing and meteorological research. Developing geostationary microwave sounder is also a national strategy demand of China. The successful development of the CAS-ESA geostationary millimeter wave atmospheric sounder prototype based on synthetic aperture radiometer paves the way to reaching this goal. This paper briefly reviewed the research background and the current status of the relevant technology over the world, introduced the developing roadmap and achievements in china, stated the significance of the successful development of this prototype, and finally highlighted the prospect of near future application in China's Fengyun-4 mission.

Geostationary earth orbit  /  microwave atmospheric sounder  /  synthetic aperture radiometer  /  FengYun-4 meteorological satellite