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Biomass (satellite)

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Biomass
ESA Biomass satellite rendering
Mission typeEarth observation satellite
OperatorESA
COSPAR ID2025-090A Edit this at Wikidata
SATCAT no.63774Edit this on Wikidata
Websitehttps://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/FutureEO/Biomass
Mission duration5 years (planned)
16 days (in progress)
Spacecraft properties
BusAstrobus
ManufacturerAirbus Defence and Space (UK)
Launch mass1,170 kilograms (2,580 lb)
Power1500 watts
Start of mission
Launch date29 April 2025, 06:15:00 UTC
RocketVega C
Launch siteKourou ELV
ContractorArianespace
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric
RegimeSun-synchronous
Altitude660 km
← EarthCARE
FLEX →

Biomass is an Earth observing satellite of the European Space Agency (ESA). The mission will provide the first comprehensive measurements of global forest biomass and is expected to significantly improve the understanding of carbon storage, forest health, and temporal changes of forest ecosystems.[1] It is meant to last for five years, monitoring at least eight growth cycles in the world’s forests.[2]

Background

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Rolling Biomass to the cleanroom
Overview of ESA's Biomass Earth Explorer satellite
Overview of ESA's Biomass Earth Explorer satellite

The Biomass satellite is part of ESA's Living Planet Programme, which consists of Earth observation missions.[3][4] Its initial launch date was set to 2020, but that has since been delayed to 2025.[5]

The entire cost of the mission was placed at around 400 million euros. The main scientific instrument aboard Biomass is a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) operating at 435 MHz.[6] The satellite measures 10 x 12 x 20 m, weighs around 1.2 tonnes and it is set to orbit the Earth at an altitude of 666 km.[7][8][9]

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.[9]

Instruments

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ESA-developed Earth observation missions
An artist's impression of the Biomass satellite

Biomass is equipped with a P-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), built in Friedrichshafen, Germany[10] and a large 12-m deployable antenna supplied by L3Harris.[11] The Feed Array of the SAR antenna is provided by Thales Alenia Space, Italy.[12]

Scientific objectives

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The main objective of the mission is to measure forest biomass in order to assess terrestrial carbon stocks and fluxes and better understand the planet's carbon cycle.[3] The Biomass mission will explore Earth's surface at the P-band wavelength, the first time this technique is used from orbit. This will allow it to provide accurate maps of tropical, temperate and boreal forest biomass that are not obtainable by ground measurement techniques.[10][13][14] The amount of biomass and forest height will be measured at a resolution of 200 m, and forest disturbances such as clear-cutting at a resolution of 50 m.[15][16]

Its stated objectives are:[17]

  1. Reduce the large uncertainties in the carbon flux due to changes in land use
  2. Provide scientific support for international treaties, agreements and programs such as the UN's REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries) program
  3. Improve understanding and predictions of landscape-scale carbon dynamics
  4. Provide observations to initialize and test the land element of Earth system models
  5. Provide key information for forest resources management and ecosystem services.

It is expected that the data sent back from the satellite will also contribute new information to other areas of climate science, like measuring the biomass of desert regions to find fossil water and new water sources in arid regions as well as contributing to observations of ice sheet dynamics, subsurface geology and forest topography.[10]

Timeline

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Development (2013 to 2024)

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  • In May 2013, Biomass was announced as ESA's 7th Earth Explorer.[18]
  • In February 2015, ESA Member States gave the green light for the project's full implementation.
  • In May 2016, it was announced that Airbus Defence and Space UK will build the satellite under a contract valued at 229 million euros.[19][10]
  • In October 2019, ESA and Arianespace signed a contract for the launch of Biomass on a Vega launch vehicle from French Guiana. At that time, the launch was planned for 2022.[20]
  • During 2022, the satellite was assembled at Airbus in Stevenage, UK.[21]
  • In November 2022, the satellite was transported from the UK to Airbus' Astrolabe facilities in Toulouse, France for testing.[21][22]
  • In 2024, two scientists from the Technical University of Denmark spent two months in Antarctica, testing a P-band synthetic aperture radar, mimicking the Biomass instrument, on a Basler aircraft.[23][24][25][26]

Launch campaign (2025)

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  • In February 2025, the satellite was pronounced ready for packing and shipping from Toulouse to French Guiana for a launch planned for April 2025[27] and on 21 February, it has left Toulouse[28] for the port of Sète.[29]
  • In March 2025, after almost two weeks at sea aboard the cargo ship MN Toucan, the satellite arrived at Pariacabo – the harbour of the Guiana Space Centre – and was transported to the spaceport's cleanroom.[29][30] In late March 2025, Biomass's propulsion subsystem has been cleared for fuelling.[31]
  • On 25 March 2025, Arianespace announced the expected time of launch of Vega C with the Biomass satellite: 29 April 2025, at 6:15 am GFT (09:15 UTC). The launcher mission is called VV26. Spacecraft separation will occur 57 minutes after lift-off.[32]
  • In early April 2025, the satellite was fully loaded with 132 kg of fuel.[33] On 15 April, the satellite was connected to Vega-C using the VAMPIRE (Vega Adapter for Multiple Payload Injection and Release)[34] and on 16 April, it has been sealed inside the protective fairing of the rocket.[35] On 22 April, Vega-C with Biomass has been rolled out to the launch pad.[36]
  • Over the last four months before launch, ESA's European Space Operations Centre in Darmstadt has been preparing for the launch with a simulation campaign, culminating with a comprehensive final rehearsal of the countdown and launch sequence on 23 April.[37]
  • On the launch day of 29 April 2025, ESA WebTV live coverage started at 8:55 UTC.[38] Vega C with Biomass launched as planned at 09:15 UTC and the satellite successfully separated. This was the 353rd launch by Arianespace, the 4th Vega C launch, and the 146th spacecraft built by Airbus Defence and Space launched by Arianespace.[39] At 10:28 UTC, the satellite controllers at ESOC received first signal from the satellite, relayed via the Troll ground station in Antarctica.[40]

In-orbit commissioning (2025)

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  • On 2 May 2025, just 3 days after the satellite's launch, ESA has released its most extensive maps of above-ground forest carbon to date that integrate data from multiple satellite missions before Biomass: the "ESA Climate Change Initiative Biomass Dataset Version 6"[41]
  • First 9 days in space were dedicated to the Launch and Early Orbit Phase (LEOP). This period usually takes only 3 to 4 days in comparable missions. However, the complex deployment of the Biomass' antenna required a longer LEOP. The 7.5-m-long boom of the antenna was deployed during a 3 day operation which required the simultaneous coverage of 2 ground stations. The following reflector deployment required the simultaneous coverage of 3 ground stations with only 2 possible deployment slots per day. During the antenna deployment, the spacecraft was in a state of limited manoeuvrability and could not perform collision avoidance manoeuvres.[42]
  • On 7 May 2025, ESA announced that the satellite's 12-m-diameter radar antenna has been fully deployed.[43]
  • On 8 May 2025, the LEOP officially concluded and in a traditional ceremony, the spacecraft's name was added to the historic list of missions on the wall of ESA's Main Control Room in Darmstadt.[42]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Biomass poised for liftoff to unveil forest secrets". esa.int. Retrieved 28 April 2025.
  2. ^ "World's Biomass to Be Measured With Satellite Constructed by Airbus Defence and Space". Bioenergy Insight Magazine. 12 May 2016. Retrieved 20 September 2019.
  3. ^ a b "Biomass". ESA. 3 May 2019. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
  4. ^ "The Earth Explorer Biomass". ESA. Retrieved 22 February 2019.
  5. ^ "Airbus-built Biomass forest measuring satellite shipped to Kourou". airbus.com. 21 February 2025. Retrieved 25 March 2025.
  6. ^ Arcioni, M.; Bensi, P.; Fehringer, M.; Fois, F.; Hélière, F.; Lin, C.; Scipal, K. (July 2014). "The Biomass mission, status of the satellite system". 2014 IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium. pp. 1413–1416. doi:10.1109/IGARSS.2014.6946700. ISBN 978-1-4799-5775-0. S2CID 21525036.
  7. ^ Amos, Jonathan (7 May 2013). "ESA Approves Biomass Satellite to Monitor Earth's Forests". BBC. Retrieved 20 September 2019.
  8. ^ "Image: Biomass Earth Explorer satellite". Phys.org. 13 February 2019. Retrieved 20 September 2019.
  9. ^ a b Harebottle, Adrienne (11 May 2018). "Sener to Develop Biomass Satellite Assembly Devices for ESA". Via Satellite. Retrieved 20 September 2019.
  10. ^ a b c d "Airbus Defence and Space Signs Contract to Build Biomass – the European Space Agency's Forest Mission". airbus.com. 3 May 2016. Retrieved 20 September 2019.
  11. ^ "100th Unfurlable Mesh Reflector". l3harris.com. Retrieved 13 February 2025.
  12. ^ "Aerospace, BIOMASS space mission will have Italo-French "antennas"". ResearchItaly. 31 October 2017. Archived from the original on 2 January 2019. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
  13. ^ Massotti, Luca; Arcioni, Marco; Ankersen, Pierluigi Silvestrin Finn; Casasco, Massimo (1 January 2013). "Modern Attitude Control and Co-design for the Biomass Satellite (Earth Explorer Core Mission 7)". IFAC Proceedings Volumes. 19th IFAC Symposium on Automatic Control in Aerospace. 46 (19): 405–410. doi:10.3182/20130902-5-DE-2040.00036. ISSN 1474-6670.
  14. ^ Laurin, Gaia Vaglio; Pirotti, Francesco; Cellegari, Maria; Chen, Qi; Cuozzo, Giovanni; Lingua, Emanuele; Notarnicola, Claudia; Papale, Dario (2019). "Potential of ALOS2 and NDVI to Estimate Forest Above-Ground Biomass, and Comparison with Lidar-Derived Estimates". In Kumar, Lalit; Mutanga, Onisimo (eds.). Remote Sensing of Above Ground Biomass. Basel, Beijing, Wuhan, Barcelona, Belgrade: MDPI. p. 61. ISBN 9783039212095.
  15. ^ "ESA: Biomass satellite to be launched in 2020". UN-SPIDER. 23 February 2015. Retrieved 20 September 2019.
  16. ^ Scipal, K.; Arcioni, M.; Chave, J.; Dall, J.; Fois, F.; LeToan, T.; Lin, C.; Papathanassiou, K.; Quegan, S. (July 2010). "The BIOMASS mission — an ESA Earth Explorer candidate to measure the BIOMASS of the earth's forests" (PDF). 2010 IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium. pp. 52–55. doi:10.1109/IGARSS.2010.5648979. ISBN 978-1-4244-9565-8. S2CID 10610055.
  17. ^ Kramer, Herbert J. (8 December 2018). "Biomass (Biomass monitoring mission for Carbon Assessment)". eoportal.org. eoPortal - Earth Observation Directory & News. Retrieved 20 September 2019.
  18. ^ "Biomass - Earth Online". earth.esa.int. Archived from the original on 17 December 2024. Retrieved 22 February 2025.
  19. ^ de Selding, Peter B. (3 May 2016). "Airbus UK to build Europe's Biomass satellite, featuring first use of P-band radar". SpaceNews. Retrieved 20 September 2019.
  20. ^ "Contract seals deal for Biomass satellite's ride into space". esa.int. Retrieved 22 February 2025.
  21. ^ a b "Biomass heads for the shaker". esa.int. Retrieved 22 February 2025.
  22. ^ "ESA's forest satellite robust for launch". esa.int. Retrieved 22 February 2025.
  23. ^ "In Antarctica for a forest satellite mission?". Retrieved 1 April 2025.
  24. ^ "Biomass Antarctic campaign on track". Retrieved 1 April 2025.
  25. ^ "More flights over Antarctica for Biomass and a bit of cricket". Retrieved 1 April 2025.
  26. ^ "It's a wrap, a swim and an ice sculpture". Retrieved 1 April 2025.
  27. ^ "Forest mission on show". esa.int. Retrieved 22 February 2025.
  28. ^ "Airbus-built Biomass forest measuring satellite shipped to Kourou". airbus.com. 21 February 2025. Retrieved 23 February 2025.
  29. ^ a b "ESA's pioneering Biomass satellite arrives at launch site". esa.int. Retrieved 10 March 2025.
  30. ^ "Biomass out of the box". esa.int. Retrieved 17 March 2025.
  31. ^ "Biomass cleared for fuelling". esa.int. Retrieved 31 March 2025.
  32. ^ "Arianespace to launch ESA's Biomass satellite on 29 April 2025, with Vega C". Arianespace. 25 March 2025. Retrieved 28 April 2025.
  33. ^ "Biomass fully loaded". esa.int. Retrieved 10 April 2025.
  34. ^ The VAMPIRE (Vega Adapter for Multiple Payload Injection and Release) connects @esaearth.esa.int's Biomass and Vega-C.
  35. ^ "Forest mission sealed within rocket fairing for liftoff". esa.int. Retrieved 16 April 2025.
  36. ^ "Biomass on the launch pad". esa.int. Retrieved 22 April 2025.
  37. ^ "Final preparations for Biomass operations". esa.int. Retrieved 24 April 2025.
  38. ^ "Watch Biomass launch live". esa.int. Retrieved 24 April 2025.
  39. ^ Flight VV26 | Biomass | Vega C. Retrieved 29 April 2025 – via youtube.com.
  40. ^ "Biomass launched to count forest carbon". esa.int. Retrieved 29 April 2025.
  41. ^ "ESA unveils longest-ever dataset on forest biomass". www.esa.int. Retrieved 3 May 2025.
  42. ^ a b "Biomass completes a relay race of a LEOP". www.esa.int. Retrieved 15 May 2025.
  43. ^ "Forest satellite's big antenna opens up". www.esa.int. Retrieved 7 May 2025.
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