# MWS Microwave Sounder
*sensor . products*

MWS is a cross-track passive microwave sounder for temperature and humidity profiling on MetOp-SG.

## Specifications
- **manufacturer**: airbus-ds
- **deployment context**: orbital
- **sensor**: {"instrument_family":"radiometer","measurement_principle":"passive","frequency_bands_ghz":[23.8,31.4,50.3,52.8,53.246,53.596,53.948,54.4,54.94,55.5,57.29034,89,165.5,183.311,229],"scan_type":"cross-track","channel_count":24,"swath_km":2300,"ifov_km_range":"17-40"}
- **entity type**: sensor
- **last verified date**: 2026-06-11
- **verified by**: agency-doc
- **claim status**: agency-sourced
- **provider**: airbus-ds
- **mass kg**: 132
- **avg power w**: 137
- **data rate mbps**: 0.03
- **attributes**: {"kind":"sensor","manufacturer":"airbus-ds","description":"MWS is a cross-track passive microwave sounder for temperature and humidity profiling on MetOp-SG.","deployment_context":"orbital","sensor":"{\"instrument_family\":\"radiometer\",\"measurement_principle\":\"passive\",\"frequency_bands_ghz\":[23.8,31.4,50.3,52.8,53.246,53.596,53.948,54.4,54.94,55.5,57.29034,89,165.5,183.311,229],\"scan_type\":\"cross-track\",\"channel_count\":24,\"swath_km\":2300,\"ifov_km_range\":\"17-40\"}"}
- **technology**: microwave-radiometry

## Editorial
MWS (Microwave Sounder) is a cross-track passive microwave radiometer developed by Airbus Defence and Space for the MetOp Second Generation (MetOp-SG) satellite series. It operates 24 channels spanning 23.8 GHz to 229 GHz, covering surface emission windows, oxygen absorption bands near 50-58 GHz for temperature profiling, and water-vapour absorption bands near 183 GHz for humidity profiling.[^wmo-oscar-mws] Swath width is 2300 km with an IFOV ranging from 17 km to 40 km depending on channel.[^wmo-oscar-mws] Instrument mass is 132 kg and average power consumption is 137 W.[^wmo-oscar-mws]

MWS flew for the first time on MetOp-SG A1, launched on Ariane 6 in August 2025.[^airbus-launch-pr] It is planned for MetOp-SG A2 and A3. MWS combines the temperature-sounding role of AMSU-A and the humidity-sounding role of MHS on MetOp first-generation satellites, providing those measurements in a single 24-channel instrument.[^wmo-oscar-mws]

## Compositional position
- metop-sg-a1 (missions) --[mission_payloads]--> MWS Microwave Sounder

## Sources
- [wmo-oscar-mws] | WMO OSCAR - MWS Microwave Sounder instrument record | https://space.oscar.wmo.int/instruments/view/mws | tier=agency-doc | accessed=2026-06-11
- [eoportal-metop-sg] | MetOp-SG Mission Overview, eoPortal | https://www.eoportal.org/satellite-missions/metop-sg | tier=community | accessed=2026-06-11
- [airbus-launch-pr] | MetOp-SG A1 successful launch, Airbus press release 2025-08 | https://www.airbus.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2025-08-europes-new-era-of-weather-forecasting-begins-with-successful | tier=operator-press | accessed=2026-06-11

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