Latest news with #EarthCARE
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
The launch of ESA's Biomass: A European leap into Earth observation
Over 95 per cent of French Guiana - a French overseas department nestled between Brazil and Suriname - is covered in tropical forests, a wild, thick, humid ecosystem found in regions near the equator. Tropical forests play an important role in mitigating climate change, as they absorb a great share of the carbon dioxide (CO2) stored in terrestrial biomass. However, quantifying exactly how much CO2 these forests absorb is challenging, as their dense canopies make them almost impenetrable. Related ESA successfully launches Biomass, the satellite set to unlock the secrets of the world's forests But the answer to these doubts might come from French Guiana itself. Blasting off from Europe's spaceport in Kourou on April 29, the European Space Agency (ESA) launched Biomass into orbit, a satellite designed to measure the amount of carbon tropical forests store. Euronews Tech Talks was on site for the liftoff. In the first of two special episodes dedicated to the satellite, the podcast looks back at the eve of the launch to explore the satellite, the people working on it, and how they felt ahead of the crucial launch day. Biomass is the seventh mission of ESA's Future EO programme, a series of projects based on proposals from scientists to test new technologies and analyse specific aspects of our planet. In the case of Biomass, its standout feature is its P-band radar, a technology never used before in space. The P-band instrument, which resembles an umbrella, sends low-frequency signals that penetrate the canopy and bounce back to the satellite, providing data on the quantity of carbon stored and its location within the trees. Related ESA launches EarthCARE satellite to study the impact of clouds on climate change This instrument will not replace on-the-ground research on tropical forests, but it will provide essential data to understand their role in carbon flows. In fact, grasping how much carbon is stored in terrestrial biomass can help researchers determine the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere. "It's not just scientifically relevant, but it also has real value for all of us citizens," Simonetta Cheli, ESA director of Earth observation programmes, told Euronews. "It contributes to a healthier planet, to improving our health and the quality of the air we breathe," she continued. To organise and conduct the mission, ESA relied on the support of multiple European actors. The satellite was manufactured by Airbus Defence and Space, and launched into orbit by the Vega C. The rocket's components were produced across 13 ESA member states, with the Italian company Avio serving as the lead contractor and design authority of the project. "It took us years to get here, but now we're able to offer a range of launch capabilities that can meet practically any need in Europe," Giulio Ranzo, CEO of Avio, told Euronews. Related T-Minus Ariane 6: Inside Europe's critical mission to reclaim space autonomy The other two important players in the project are Arianespace and CNES, the French space agency. The former oversaw the launch and is responsible for the commercial exploitation of the launcher. The latter contributed to the research behind the satellite's development, managed the launch campaign, and is involved in collecting data from the satellite in orbit. All these actors worked together for over a decade to prepare the satellite and its launch into space, a challenging move due to the ambitious novelty of the P-band radar. Related Europe's space sector to soon welcome Ariane 6: 'The missions will be longer and more versatile' On April 28, the day before the launch, Kourou spaceport welcomed representatives, professionals and journalists looking forward to witnessing Biomass's lift-off. In the Jupiter Centre, one of the main buildings in the space facility housing the Mission Control Room, the air was filled with a shared sense of anticipation. Some people were rational, including Jean-Frédéric Alasa, launch range operations director at CNES. "We're always excited to launch because it's the end of a long phase of preparation," he told Euronews. "But we also consider the situation in which we have a failure, because a launch is complicated". Others were driven by a determined optimism. "We are very confident, it will work, and it will be useful for all of us," Michael Fehringer, Biomass project manager, told Euronews. But how did the launch go? To find out more, listen to this episode of Euronews Tech Talks and to the next one, out on May 28.
Euronews
29-04-2025
- Science
- Euronews
ESA successfully launches Biomass, the satellite set to unlock the secrets of the world's forests
ADVERTISEMENT The European Space Agency (ESA) successfully completed the launch of its Biomass satellite on Tuesday from the European Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. Manufactured by Airbus Defence and Arianespace, the satellite is designed to advance our understanding of tropical forests, particularly by measuring how much carbon they store. The successful launch was welcomed by both the space agency and the industry partners who worked on the project. Related ESA launches EarthCARE satellite to study the impact of clouds on climate change "This mission comes at a very timely moment. It's about science, it's about innovation, but it's also about the health of citizens on the planet," Simonetta Cheli, ESA's Director of Earth Observation Programmes, said during the press conference following the launch. "In the current context full of uncertainties, the fact that Europe masters a technology as complex as rockets, the fact that we are reliable... it's something of utmost importance," added David Cavailloles, CEO of Arianespace. But what exactly makes this satellite so special? ESA's Biomass mission launches on Vega-C The importance of knowing carbon stocks in tropical forests Forests play a vital role in sustaining life on our planet. They largely owe this function to photosynthesis, the process by which plants absorb carbon dioxide (CO2) and water, releasing oxygen into the atmosphere and storing energy in the form of glucose (sugar) within their cells. While photosynthesis is one of the most widely taught scientific concepts in schools, understanding the complexities of how forests work remains a challenge. Researchers struggle to grasp how much carbon is stored in the world's forests and how these stocks are changing in response to factors like the increase in temperature. Of course, not all the forests pose the same challenges. Those in the Northern Hemisphere tend to have better mapping and can be observed through satellite, like ESA's Sentinel 1. Related ESA launches Hera mission to return to deflected asteroid in bid to learn how to protect Earth However, tropical forests are far more complex. "First of all, it [tropical forest] accounts for 75 per cent of global CO2 absorption, so it plays a more important role in the overall carbon cycle," Cheli explained. "Secondly, it's a denser forest - also more physically inaccessible, which makes it harder to validate data on the ground," she continued. To help close this knowledge gap, the ESA Biomass satellite aims to provide essential new data on the quantity of carbon stored in tropical forests, helping scientists to address some of the most urgent global challenges. ADVERTISEMENT "The data collected by Biomass will help us understand how a potential degradation of the forest in the tropical zone can have an impact on the entire evolution of the climate and climate change," Cheli told Euronews Next. But how does the Biomass mission aim to do so? Related T-Minus Ariane 6: Inside Europe's critical mission to reclaim space autonomy The cutting-edge P-band technology "It's an innovation in terms of technological advancement of Europe," Cheli told Euronews Next, presenting the Biomass satellite. "It's the first time we've ever launched a mission with P-band," she added. ADVERTISEMENT The P-band synthetic aperture radar is the key component of Biomass. Thanks to its wavelength of approximately 70 cm, the radar signal can penetrate the forest canopy, collecting important information on carbon stocks. The P-band radar looks like an umbrella. It's a 12-metre-diameter antenna located on the top of the satellite, allowing it to scan through the thick and almost impenetrable tropical forest. Biomass beyond forests "This P-band will allow looking at 3D pictures of tropical forests," Simoetta Cheli told Euronews. "It's a little bit like a medical scan of the status of tropical forests," she explained. Producing the P-band radar and fitting it on the satellite was very challenging for Airbus, which also had to face the problem of the global pandemic. ADVERTISEMENT "We had to build the whole spacecraft during Covid, which was very difficult," Justin Byrne, Head of Space Programmes at Airbus told journalists in Kourou. He explained that team separation made the complex task of producing the P-band radar even more demanding, but he looked enthusiastic about the result. Related Europe's Vega rocket prepares for lift off on final ESA mission before retirement Vega-C: Europe's access to space Another essential component of the Biomass satellite is Vega-C, the successor of Vega, the small European rocket launcher built by the Italian company Avio, which is particularly devoted to Earth observation missions. Standing at 35 m in height and weighing 210 tonnes, Vega-C is composed of three solid-propellant stages, which successfully carried the satellite into orbit in the early morning of Tuesday in Kourou. The Vega-C site launch. Alice Carnevali, Euronews "The mission has a duration of one hour, including the finishing face when we have to return the top of the launcher from space to ground," Giulio Ranzo, CEO of Avio, told journalists in Kourou before the launch. ADVERTISEMENT "We remind everyone that we do not leave anything in space," he then pointed out, explaining that the launcher is destroyed upon reentry into the atmosphere, ensuring no space debris is left in orbit. The ESA Biomass satellite is designed for a mission of at least 5 years, and it's the biggest space-based radar in history. To learn more about the topic and delve into the behind-the-scenes of the Biomass launch, make sure to listen to the Euronews Tech Talks episode on Wednesday, May 14.
