X-Ray Vision for Forests: ESA’s Biomass Satellite and the P-Band Radar Revolution in Carbon Accounting
The ESA Biomass satellite, launched on April 29, 2025, carries the first P-band synthetic aperture radar (435 MHz) to map the world’s forests in 3D and quantify their carbon content. The mission uses a 12-meter deployable antenna—the largest radar antenna ever flown—to enable detection of biomass changes as small as 10–20 tons per hectare. Biomass operates in a polar Sun-synchronous orbit at about 666 km altitude for a five-year lifespan, scanning tropical, temperate, and boreal forests globally. The long-wavelength P-band radar (about 70 cm) penetrates dense foliage to measure forest height, volume, and biomass from canopy to trunk to ground.