Biomass launched to count forest carbon

ESA’s groundbreaking Biomass satellite, designed to provide unprecedented insights into the world’s forests and their crucial role in Earth’s carbon cycle, has been launched. The satellite lifted off aboard a Vega-C rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, on 29 April 2025.

Controllers will spend the coming days carrying out the ‘launch and early orbit’ phase, meticulously verifying that all systems are functioning correctly. This critical phase also involves a series of intricate manoeuvres to deploy the satellite’s 12-metre-wide mesh reflector supported by a 7.5-metre boom. Once this phase is complete, Biomass will join the portfolio of pioneering missions operated from ESA’s mission control centre.

Carrying the first P-band synthetic aperture radar in space, the Biomass mission is designed to deliver crucial information about the state of our forests and how they are changing, and to further our knowledge of the role forests play in the carbon cycle.

ESA’s Director of Earth Observation Programmes, Simonetta Cheli, said, “I’d like to extend my congratulations to everyone who has been involved in developing and launching this extraordinary mission. Biomass now joins our esteemed family of Earth Explorers – missions that have consistently delivered groundbreaking discoveries and advanced scientific understanding of our planet.

“With Biomass, we are poised to gain vital new data on how much carbon is stored in the world’s forests, helping to fill key gaps in our knowledge of the carbon cycle and, ultimately, Earth’s climate system.”

More >>

Source: ESA