Biomass Satellite, Key Objectives and Payload

Biomass Satellite is a European Space Agency (ESA) mission designed to map and monitor Earth's forest biomass using advanced radar technology, aiding climate change research and carbon stock assessments.

Context: The European Space Agency (ESA) will launch its Biomass mission on April 29, 2025, aboard the Vega C rocket.

About Biomass Satellite

Biomass Satellite is a European Space Agency (ESA) Earth observation satellite. It is the first satellite to carry a P-band radar, a long-wavelength radar that penetrates deep into forest canopies.

Key Objectives of the Biomass Mission

Estimate Above-Ground Forest Biomass.
Provide detailed 3D forest structure maps.
Understand the forest’s role in carbon storage.
Improve climate change predictions using accurate biomass data.
Observe ice sheet movement in Antarctica.

Satellite Payload

Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) for mapping Earth’s surface.
It is fitted with a large 12-meter antenna.
It is the first satellite to use P-band SAR (long-wave radar):
- Longer wavelengths can penetrate dense forest canopies enabling detection of biomass from canopy to roots.
- P-band SAR can “see through” dense foliage. It can measure carbon stored in branches, trunks and ground biomass.
Biomass is the seventh mission under ESA’s Earth Explorer programme.

Earth Explorers programme

The Earth Explorers programme consists of a series of satellites that share the common goal of advancing Earth science by helping answer principal scientific questions through observation of Earth’s key systems.

Earth Explorers programme