ESA’s Biomass mission is now ready for launch at Europe’s Spaceport located in Kourou, French Guiana. The liftoff is set for Tuesday, 29 April, and will be streamed live on ESA WebTV. Coverage will commence at 10:55 CEST, featuring live commentary from both Kourou and ESA’s European Space Operations Centre in Germany, with the Vega-C rocket scheduled to lift off at 11:15 CEST.

Overview of Biomass

The Biomass mission forms part of ESA’s Earth Explorer program, which employs cutting-edge technology to deliver novel insights about our planet. This mission will deepen our understanding of forests and their critical roles within the carbon cycle and the broader climate system.

It is well-established that forests significantly contribute to Earth’s carbon cycle by sequestering and storing substantial quantities of carbon dioxide, thus helping to stabilize global temperatures. Data generated by Biomass will enhance the accuracy of estimates regarding the carbon stored in forest biomass, which will also aid in clarifying uncertainties associated with carbon stock variations resulting from land-use dynamics, deforestation, and regrowth patterns.

Equipped with a pioneering P-band radar, Biomass is the first mission to utilize such technology in space. This radar can penetrate cloud cover and forest canopies, providing essential data by bouncing signals off vegetation. The insights gained will shed light on the biomass density and height of forests. Additionally, the mission’s data will contribute to a better understanding of forest conditions and their evolution, while also facilitating geological mapping beneath deserts, analyzing ice sheet formations, and detailing forest floor topography.

Over 50 companies, led by Airbus UK, collaborated on the development of this sophisticated satellite.