# Advanced Hyperspectral Imager
*sensor . products*

VNIR/SWIR hyperspectral imager carried by GF-5, GF-5-02, and GF-5-01A; peer-reviewed characterisation reports 400-2500 nm coverage, 330 bands, 30 m resolution, and 60 km swath.

## Specifications
- **product status**: operational
- **deployment context**: orbital
- **manufacturer**: cnsa
- **sensor**: {"instrument_family":"passive-optical","measurement_principle":"passive","spectral_range_nm":{"min":400,"max":2500},"spectral_band_count":330,"gsd_m":{"native":30},"swath_km":60,"sampling_nm":5}
- **entity type**: sensor
- **last verified date**: 2026-06-16
- **verified by**: agency-doc
- **claim status**: agency-sourced
- **provider**: cnsa
- **attributes**: {"kind":"sensor","product_status":"operational","deployment_context":"orbital","manufacturer":"cnsa","description":"VNIR/SWIR hyperspectral imager carried by GF-5, GF-5-02, and GF-5-01A; peer-reviewed characterisation reports 400-2500 nm coverage, 330 bands, 30 m resolution, and 60 km swath.","sensor":"{\"instrument_family\":\"passive-optical\",\"measurement_principle\":\"passive\",\"spectral_range_nm\":{\"min\":400,\"max\":2500},\"spectral_band_count\":330,\"gsd_m\":{\"native\":30},\"swath_km\":60,\"sampling_nm\":5}"}
- **technology**: optical-spectral-sensing
- **relevance**: in-scope

## Editorial
## Overview

The Advanced Hyperspectral Imager (AHSI) is a spaceborne pushbroom hyperspectral sensor covering 387-2,516 nm across 330 spectral bands at 30 m ground sampling distance (GSD) and 60 km swath.[^ieee-ahsi-2019] It was first flown on GaoFen-5, launched 2018-05-09 and since decommissioned.[^ceos-gf5] The same AHSI design also flies on the operational GaoFen-5-02, launched 2021-09-07.[^wmo-ahsi] A hyperspectral imager of the AHSI lineage also flies on GaoFen-5-01A, whose detailed spectral configuration is not confirmed in peer-reviewed sources.[^wmo-ahsi]

## Spectral design

AHSI uses two separate pushbroom spectrometers sharing a common telescope.[^ieee-ahsi-2019] The VNIR spectrometer covers 387-1,024 nm with 150 bands at approximately 5 nm spectral sampling. The SWIR spectrometer covers 1,009-2,516 nm with 180 bands at approximately 10 nm spectral sampling.[^ieee-ahsi-2019] The 387 nm lower bound and 2,516 nm upper bound are from the primary instrument characterisation paper; commonly cited figures of 400 nm and 2,500 nm are rounded approximations.[^ieee-ahsi-2019] Signal-to-noise ratio has been characterised at approximately 700 in the VNIR and approximately 500 in the SWIR.[^ieee-ahsi-2019]

The optical design uses a convex-grating approach for the VNIR and an Offner three-concentric-mirror configuration for the SWIR, a combination that minimises smile and keystone distortion across the focal plane.[^ieee-ahsi-2019]

## Observation applications

Hyperspectral classification of land-cover classes has been demonstrated using AHSI data from GaoFen-5.[^ieee-ahsi-2019] Spectral library matching for lithological mapping has been demonstrated from GaoFen-5 AHSI imagery.[^mdpi-lithological] Spectral unmixing for sub-pixel material decomposition has been demonstrated using AHSI data.[^mdpi-lithological] Gas plume detection via matched-filter methods is capable given AHSI spectral coverage and resolution, though published demonstrations on operational retrievals from this specific instrument remain limited.[^ieee-ahsi-2019]

## Compositional position
- gaofen-5 (missions) --[mission_payloads]--> Advanced Hyperspectral Imager

## Sources
- [wmo-ahsi] | WMO OSCAR instrument record: AHSI | https://space.oscar.wmo.int/instruments/view/ahsi | tier=agency-doc | accessed=2026-06-16
- [ieee-ahsi-2019] | The Advanced Hyperspectral Imager: Aboard China's GaoFen-5 Satellite (IEEE GRSM, Dec 2019) | https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8937069/ | tier=peer-reviewed | accessed=2026-06-16 | published=2019-12-01
- [iop-ahsi-2020] | AHSI: the Hyperspectral Imager on China's GaoFen-5 Satellite (IOP EES, 2020) | https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1755-1315/509/1/012033 | tier=peer-reviewed | accessed=2026-06-16 | published=2020-01-01
- [semantic-scholar-ahsi] | The Advanced Hyperspectral Imager: Aboard China's GaoFen-5 Satellite - Semantic Scholar record | https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/The-Advanced-Hyperspectral-Imager:-Aboard-China's-Liu-Zhang/002b3b0a110b774f411519e6caf2023e64d1f280 | tier=community | accessed=2026-06-16
- [mdpi-lithological] | Application of Lithological Mapping Based on AHSI Imagery Onboard GaoFen-5 (Remote Sensing 2020) | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/12/23/3990 | tier=peer-reviewed | accessed=2026-06-16 | published=2020-01-01
- [ceos-gf5] | CEOS MIM mission summary: GF-5 | https://database.eohandbook.com/database/missionsummary.aspx?missionID=959 | tier=agency-doc | accessed=2026-06-16

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Source: https://eo-atlas.org/products/sensor/ahsi
Maintainer: SpectraWorks B.V. (CC-BY 4.0)