One of the critical advantages of a high-altitude airship (HAA) is its ability to carry multiple-task payloads for remote sensing monitoring on the plateau. We developed a multipayload observation system based on the HAA (ASQ-MPHAAS) for remote sensing monitoring of the Qinghai plateau. In this paper, we demonstrate the design, development, implementation of the ASQ-MPHAAS. The ASQ-MPHAAS includes two parts; one part is our HAA (ASQ-HAA380), and the other part is our multi-payload observation system (ASQ-MPOS-1). The ASQ-MPOS-1 consists of two hyperspectral push-broom imaging sensors, a multispectral imaging sensor, a high-resolution RGB camera, a video sensor, a Position and Orientation System (POS), and other components. The ASQ-MPOS-1 is installed under the ASQ-HAA380. We also introduce some key methods of data processing we propose to solve unique problems brought by HAA. Four real-world field experiments are presented in this paper to demonstrate that the ASQ-MPHAAS can capture different kinds of remote sensing data at a high spatial resolution of a few or dozen centimeters. Index Terms-Multi-payload observation, high altitude airship time synchronization, hyperspectral imaging, multispectral imaging.
I. INTRODUCTIONM OST parts of Qinghai Province are located at altitudes over 3000-4000 m. It is challenging to observe the grassland on Qinghai plateau using common airborne platforms such as manned aircraft and UAVs. Our research group developed a new multi-payload system based on an HAA (ASQ-MPHAAS) for remote sensing monitoring of the grasslands on Qinghai plateau. The ASQ-MPHAAS includes two parts, the HAA developed by our research group, called ASQ-HAA380, and the other part is our ASQ-MPOS-1. The ASQ-HAA380 is 38 meters long and 12 meters high and can fly at an altitude of 5000m above sea level. The ASQ-MPOS-1 includes a high spatial resolution camera with Manuscript