It is in orbit biomass, the European satellite that reveals the secrets of the forests (and tells how much they hold)

On April 29, at the first light of dawn, a arc of fire crossed the sky above the French guyana: it is the rocket Vega-c which brought the last Earth Explorer of theEuropean Space Agency (ESA). On board, an innovative satellite trained – literally – from tropical forests For a crucial task: accurately measure the amount of carbon stored in the trees. A pioneering mission that promises to revolutionize our understanding of the global carbon cycle.

“The trees and green areas of the world hold 30% of all the carbon on our planet, but we don’t know exactly how much it is,” he said Mark Drinkwaterhead of the scientific missions of the ESA. It is from this uncertainty that the biomass mission was born: to fill a decisive information vacuum to face the climatic crisis.

Thanks to the first synthetic opening radar in the P band never launched in space, Biomass is able to “see” under the hair of the trees, measuring trunks, branches and stems, that is, where the bulk of forest carbon is concentrated. A sort of gigantic orbital ultrasoundwhich for five years will dismay every green corner of the globe from a height of 666 kilometers.

His “antennas” – a 12 -meter wide reflector supported by a 7.5 -long arm – collect polarimetric radar data capable of returning three -dimensional images of the density and height of the forests, thus allowing a detailed estimate of the earthly biomass.

The breath of the Amazon forest literally “trained” the satellite. The Paracou Research Centerin the French Guyana herself, provided years of data collected on the field and via radar sensors mounted on towers and planes. “We had to understand the forest first of all,” he explained Thuy Le Toancreator of the biomass program. “Only in this way could we design a satellite capable of understanding every minimum change.”

Once operating, biomass will not only make the carbon hidden in the forests visible, but will also allow you to monitor in real time deforestation, degradation and vegetable regrowth. Vital information for climate science and for global environmental policies, today still based on very approximate estimates.

“With biomass – he underlined Simonetta CheliDirector of the Observation Programs of the Easa Terra – we will finally be able to define with great detail the contribution of forests to the carbon cycle. Data that have been missing so far and that will fill a lack of crucial information for climatic models “.

But biomass will go further. In addition to “weighing” the trees, the satellite will also be useful for the study of the biodiversityof the geology of deserts, the structure of glacial caps and forest topography. In short, an orbiting laboratory of extraordinary versatility.

Behind the mission, there is a solid European collaboration: over 50 companies, led by Airbus UKwith important Italian contributions, from Leonardo up to Aviowho made the Vega-C landscator. A united pan -European team to give the world a key tool in the battle against climate change.

The future of the earth also passes through space. And today, thanks to biomass, we can finally see the woods through the trees.