What are the 5 big white balls in the remote sensing satellite receiving station Sanya of the Chinese Academy of Sciences?

In December 2016, the Institute of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth of the Chinese Academy of Sciences issued a series of remote sensing photos reflecting the achievements of Sanya's double renovation, clearly presenting the fruitful achievements of Sanya's two years of "double city and double renovation" in the way of remote sensing technology and satellite images. The "heroes" who collect this data are the five big white balls living in the Sanya Zhongke Remote Sensing Information Industry Park. They not only collect, receive, and process data, but will also become the national data collection center in the future, and the main battlefield for promoting the industrial layout of "North Wenchang, South Sanya". Recently, Sanya Station, a remote sensing satellite receiving station of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, was also included in the first batch of China's top ten science and technology tourism bases.

"Each white sphere has a set of 12 meter aperture satellite data receiving antenna system inside, which is used to receive, record, store and transmit satellite data." Yang Tianliang, director of Sanya Research Center of the Institute of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said that there are five "big white spheres" in Sanya Zhongke Remote Sensing Information Industrial Park, and the white sphere seen on the outside is just the protective cover of the antenna system, which plays a role in protecting against moisture and typhoons.

The completion of the Sanya satellite data receiving station has enabled China's land observation satellite data to directly acquire data in the South China Sea and other regions for the first time, and has achieved complete coverage in this area, solving the long-standing lack of remote sensing satellite data in the South China Sea and surrounding areas. At the same time, through the national network of land observation satellite data receiving stations in China, Miyun, Kashgar, and Sanya have achieved full coverage of China's land and sea territory, and real-time reception of satellite data in 70% of Asia's land areas.