'Assessing Earth's climate': European satellite to map forests and their carbon absorption

The European Space Agency (ESA) presented its Biomass satellite ordered from Airbus Defence and Space in 2016 in Toulouse on Tuesday 11 February, which will map forests around the globe from April in order to measure their carbon absorption capacity.

"It will measure the tonnes of wood per hectare contained on Earth, which will help us better understand the climate balance (...) in order to better measure and assess the Earth's climate and future climate changes," Dr Marc Steckling, head of Earth observation, science and exploration at Airbus Defence and Space, explained to AFP.

Biomass will allow "a better understanding (...) of the role that forests play in the carbon cycle", stressed Simonetta Cheli, in charge of observation programs at ESA.

With a take-off mass of 1,230 kg, the satellite will leave Earth from the European spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana , to be placed in a heliosynchronous orbit at an altitude of 666 km.

Capable of mapping the entire Earth's surface in nine months, the Biomass satellite should make it possible to study the evolution of the world's forests over the five years that the mission is expected to last.

It will analyse forest biomass with an accuracy of around 200 m², "never seen before". "It's really an incredible spacecraft, because making these measurements in the field would be extremely difficult," said Dr Steckling.

Originally scheduled for 2021, the satellite's launch was delayed in part by the Covid-19 pandemic and the resulting impact on the supply chain, Dr Steckling explained.

In addition to forests, Biomass will be able to observe fossil water reserves in desert regions in order to find new water sources, and will contribute to the study of the dynamics of glacial masses and geology.

Its data, provided in open access, could also help to implement "international legislation on climate and the environment", estimated Simonetta Cheli, of the ESA.