# HY-2B Microwave Radiometer Imager
*sensor . products*

Five-frequency passive microwave radiometer imager flown on HY-2B for sea-surface temperature, wind and water-vapour observations.

## Specifications
- **product status**: operational
- **deployment context**: orbital
- **manufacturer**: cast
- **sensor**: {"instrument_family":"radiometer","measurement_principle":"passive","frequency_bands_ghz":[6.6,10.7,18.7,23.8,37],"polarisation_modes":["H","V"],"scan_type":"conical","incidence_angle_deg":55,"antenna_diameter_m":1.2,"swath_km":1600,"resolution_per_band_km":[{"frequency_ghz":6.6,"footprint_km":"80x120"},{"frequency_ghz":10.7,"footprint_km":"50x75"},{"frequency_ghz":18.7,"footprint_km":"30x45"},{"frequency_ghz":23.8,"footprint_km":"24x40"},{"frequency_ghz":37,"footprint_km":"15x22"}],"notes":"WMO OSCAR classifies MWRI (HY-2) as a conical passive microwave radiometer with daily global coverage."}
- **entity type**: sensor
- **last verified date**: 2026-06-16
- **verified by**: agency-doc
- **claim status**: agency-sourced
- **provider**: cast
- **attributes**: {"kind":"sensor","product_status":"operational","deployment_context":"orbital","manufacturer":"cast","description":"Five-frequency passive microwave radiometer imager flown on HY-2B for sea-surface temperature, wind and water-vapour observations.","sensor":"{\"instrument_family\":\"radiometer\",\"measurement_principle\":\"passive\",\"frequency_bands_ghz\":[6.6,10.7,18.7,23.8,37],\"polarisation_modes\":[\"H\",\"V\"],\"scan_type\":\"conical\",\"incidence_angle_deg\":55,\"antenna_diameter_m\":1.2,\"swath_km\":1600,\"resolution_per_band_km\":[{\"frequency_ghz\":6.6,\"footprint_km\":\"80x120\"},{\"frequency_ghz\":10.7,\"footprint_km\":\"50x75\"},{\"frequency_ghz\":18.7,\"footprint_km\":\"30x45\"},{\"frequency_ghz\":23.8,\"footprint_km\":\"24x40\"},{\"frequency_ghz\":37,\"footprint_km\":\"15x22\"}],\"notes\":\"WMO OSCAR classifies MWRI (HY-2) as a conical passive microwave radiometer with daily global coverage.\"}"}
- **relevance**: in-scope

## Editorial
HY-2B Microwave Radiometer Imager is a conical-scanning passive microwave radiometer for all-weather sea-surface temperature, wind, and total-column water vapour observation. It carries five frequencies and nine channels at 6.6, 10.7, 18.7, 23.8, and 37.0 GHz, with horizontal and vertical polarization except that 23.8 GHz is a V-polarized channel [^wmo-mwri-hy2]. The scan geometry is conical at a 55 degree zenith angle with a 1600 km swath and daily global coverage [^wmo-mwri-hy2]. The 1.2 m antenna drives band-dependent footprints from 80 x 120 km at 6.6 GHz to 15 x 22 km at 37 GHz [^wmo-mwri-hy2]. The instrument performs passive microwave radiometry on HY-2B. Its utilization period runs from January 2019 to 2026 [^wmo-mwri-hy2].

## Compositional position
- hy-2b (missions) --[mission_payloads]--> HY-2B Microwave Radiometer Imager

## Sources
- [wmo-mwri-hy2] | WMO OSCAR instrument record: MWRI (HY-2) | https://space.oscar.wmo.int/instruments/view/mwri_hy_2 | tier=agency-doc | accessed=2026-06-16

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Source: https://eo-atlas.org/products/sensor/hy-2b-mwri
Maintainer: SpectraWorks B.V. (CC-BY 4.0)