无线电探空仪通常由充满氦气或氢气的气球（风向球）搭载升空，在中低层大气测量大气主要数据，并通过无线电将数据传回地面气象站点的仪器。

运用无线电发送数据，测量高空天气数据的仪器。根据不同的测量内容，有下列几种型式：

A radiosonde is a battery-powered telemetry instrument package carried into the atmosphere usually by a weather balloon that measures various atmospheric parameters and transmits them by radio to a ground receiver. Modern radiosondes measure or calculate the following variables: altitude, pressure, temperature, relative humidity, wind (both wind speed and wind direction), cosmic ray readings at high altitude and geographical position (Latitude/Longitude). Radiosondes measuring ozone concentration are known as ozonesondes.