Beijing, China - Recent (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
1. Animation showing China's space lab Tiangong-2 in orbit
2. Various of multi-angle wideband spectral imager
3. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Tang Yuyu, lead designer, multi-angle wideband spectral imager:
"The imager can cover a width of 300 kilometers. Unlike the traditional satellite-borne devices, it can observe a broad area without swinging."
4. Various of researchers working in lab
5. Multi-angle wideband spectral imager
6. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Yin Dekui, head, multi-angle wideband spectral imager project:
"This is the first time that we see such kind of images in China. The rainbow-like circle directly shows the condition of the cloud, for example, the shape and the size of the cloud particles. It provides rich parameters. These are the observation images of wheat and rice planting areas in Shandong and Hunan and this is the image showing the change in the water body of the Poyang Lake in Jiangxi."
7. Various of three-dimensional imaging microwave altimeter
8. Animation showing satellite making observation during flight
9. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Zhang Yunhua, deputy director, key laboratory for microgravity, Institute of Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (starting with shot 9/ending with shot 11):
"Traditionally as the satellite flies by, we could only see a line. The observation of sea level changes moves along a one-dimensional line beneath the satellite. But the altimeter enables us to see a wide-swath image, not a line, but rather a plane. So the observation is much more efficient."
10. Animation showing Tiangong-2 making observation of Earth
11. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Zhang Yunhua, deputy director, key laboratory for microgravity, Institute of Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (partially overlaid with shots 13-14):
"The radar is like the human eye which has a visual angle when looking at things. The device allows a smaller angle between one to eight degrees, an unprecedented angle of observation of the Earth and the oceans. We have accumulated a large amount of data collected from these unique observation angles. Some ocean phenomena are beyond our expectations."
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12. Animation showing Tiangong-2 in orbit
13. Animation showing image of Earth, world map
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14. Various of observation images captured by Tiangong-2

Advanced imaging devices mounted on China's first space lab Tiangong-2 provide better observation and knowledge of the Earth.

A high-performance aerospace camera – the multi-angle wideband spectral imager – on Tiangong-2 can get the images of oceans, the atmosphere and land in wide spectrum.

It can be used to detect environmental factors such as cirrus clouds, aerosols, and cloud-tops, and support environmental surveillance, agriculture, forestry, global climate change and so on.

"The imager can cover a width of 300 kilometers. Unlike the traditional satellite-borne devices, it can observe a broad area without swinging," said Tang Yuyu, lead designer of the imager.

The Earth observation definition of the imager is 100 meters, making it the highest-definition space probe device in the world.

The space lab's three-dimensional imaging microwave altimeter is able to observe the ups and downs of the land, water level and the depth of the oceans. It is also the first of its kind in the world to realize wide-swath sea level measurement and form three-dimensional images.

"Traditionally as the satellite flies by, we could only see a line. The observation of sea level changes moves along a one-dimensional line beneath the satellite. But the altimeter enables us to see a wide-swath image, not a line, but rather a plane. So the observation is much more efficient," said Zhang Yunhua, deputy director of a key laboratory for microgravity under the Institute of Mechanics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

"The radar is like the human eye which has a visual angle when looking at things. The device allows a smaller angle between one to eight degrees, an unprecedented angle of observation of the Earth and the oceans. We have accumulated a large amount of data collected from these unique observation angles. Some ocean phenomena are beyond our expectations," said Zhang.

A press conference on the performance of the Tiangong-2 space lab was held in Beijing on Wednesday.

Launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China on Sept. 15, 2016, the Tiangong-2 has fulfilled all the flight testing missions as planned over the past two years in orbit.

It will deorbit as planned in July 2019 under manual control.