Giant radar ‘umbrella’ launches into space on mission to transform climate science
The European Space Agency (ESA) has blasted its Biomass satellite into space aboard a Vega-C rocket. The launch took place at 11:15 (CEST) today from Europe’s spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.
Now in orbit, the first-of-its-kind satellite will deploy a radar antenna that looks like a giant space umbrella. Developed by US defence contractor L3 Harris, the antenna is so intricate that it will take nine days to unfold in orbit.
The umbrella’s job is to direct radar pulses from a P-band radar instrument mounted on the satellite’s body down to the forests below. This type of radar uses long wavelengths that can slice through thick canopies to reach the woody structures underneath, where most of a forest’s carbon is stored. Built by Airbus, it’s the first P-band radar ever launched into space.
When the radar signals hit Earth’s surface, they bounce back. The umbrella-shaped antenna catches the returning signals and redirects them to the satellite. From there, the onboard systems process the data to create detailed 3D maps of global biomass. Think of it as an MRI scan — but for forests.
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By revealing the structure of the world’s biomass — comprising a complex mesh of leaves, stems, branches, and trunks — the probe aims to capture the most detailed measurements of forest carbon ever recorded from space. That could be a game-changer for climate science.
Forests — often called the planet’s “green lungs” — pull around 8 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere every year. But when trees are cut down or damaged, they release that stored carbon back into the air, accelerating climate change. Tracking how carbon moves in and out of forests is critical to help scientists understand and predict the future of our climate.
The satellite is designed to estimate biomass, height, and carbon content with unmatched precision. That could help scientists better monitor deforestation and forest growth while revealing the role of biomass in the carbon cycle. Beyond forests, the probe can also map subsurface geology in deserts, ice sheet structures, and forest floor topography, offering a new perspective on Earth’s ecosystems.
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