Biomass : ESA's forest mission
2025-04-29 - 2030-04-29
Biomass is an Earth observing satellite planned for launch by the European Space Agency (ESA) on 29 April 2025 from Kourou, French Guiana on a Vega C launch vehicle, the mission will provide the first comprehensive measurements of global forest biomass.
It is meant to last for five years, monitoring at least eight growth cycles in the world’s forests. The Biomass satellite is part of ESA’s Living Planet Programme, which consists of Earth observation missions. Its initial launch date was set to 2020, but that has since been delayed to 2025. The entire cost of the mission was placed at around 400 million euros. The main scientific instrument aboard Biomass will be a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) operating at 435 MHz. The satellite will measure 10 x 12 x 20m, weigh around 1.2 tonnes and it is set to orbit the Earth at an altitude of 666 km. All devices for assembly of the satellite structure, including vertical transport equipment, assembly and disassembly of satellite panels, assembly and disassembly of the Synthetic Aperture Radar are done by the Spanish company SENER.
Links:
Biomass – ESA
#ForestDay #IntlForestDay Day of Forests / Dag van het Bos 2025 (TV FAO webcast)
