Yuchen Bai, Zhenzhen Ge

Yuchen Bai, Zhenzhen Ge

Oct. 30, 2026

Cultural Relics 01 Satellite, Remote sensing monitoring, Qinghai-Xizang Plateau, Protection of great ruins, Multidisciplinary integration, Guge Dynasty, Resh

On June 15,2026, China's first remote sensing satellite for cultural relics industry, “Cultural Relics 01 Satellite”, was successfully launched at Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, marking the official entry of China's cultural relics protection into the era of “space-air-ground” collaborative space-based monitoring. There are a large number of high-value archaeological sites in the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau, such as the Guge Kingdom Ruins, the Piyang Dongga Grottoes Group, and the Reshui Tomb Complex. However, due to extreme natural conditions such as high cold and hypoxia, steep terrain, and inconvenient transportation, traditional manual inspections and ground monitoring are faced with outstanding difficulties such as long coverage period, high inspection cost, and difficulty in reaching remote areas. From the perspective of users in the cultural and museum industry, this paper does not involve the specific research and development of remote sensing and aerospace technology, but focuses on how the technical capabilities of the Cultural Relics 01 Satellite can be connected with the actual needs of the protection of the great sites on the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau, and analyzes its application prospects in site monitoring, disease early warning, law enforcement supervision, archaeological investigation and other aspects, and puts forward the preliminary idea of constructing the three-level linkage mechanism of “satellite data - local cultural and museum institutions - grassroots guardians”, in order to provide ideas for the application of new cultural relics protection techniques in the difficult conditions of the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau.

© 2026, the Authors. Published by ISCCAC

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