Today, April 29, 2025, the European light launch vehicle Vega-C delivered a unique European scientific satellite, Biomass, into space. The launch took place at 06:15 from the spaceport in French Guiana (12:15 Moscow time). The Biomass satellite will keep track of all the trees on Earth, thereby calculating the amount of carbon on the planet. This is the second successful launch of the Vega-C rocket after a two-year downtime caused by an accident.
Image source: ESA
About an hour after liftoff, the European Troll tracking station in Antarctica received a signal confirming the satellite had separated from the upper stage of the launch vehicle. Next up are complex maneuvers to reach the target orbit, as well as the deployment of a complex 12-cell reflector on a 7.5-meter boom. The satellite’s radar operates in the P-band. In fact, this is the world’s first P-band synthetic aperture radar in space.
The unique radar is designed to obtain important information about the condition of forests and their changes, as well as to expand our knowledge of the role of forests in the carbon cycle. It penetrates the crown and records tree trunks and large branches. The reflected signal allows us to estimate the volume of wood in the satellite’s observation strip and calculate the carbon stock in the trees. In deserts, the radar also allows us to “look” underground and create maps of deposits of certain minerals.
«With Biomass, we can provide important new data on how much carbon is stored in forests around the world, which will help fill gaps in our knowledge of the carbon cycle and, ultimately, the Earth’s climate system,” ESA said.
Biomass data collected by the Biomass satellite will significantly reduce uncertainty in estimates of carbon stocks and movements, including those associated with land-use change, deforestation and restoration.