A huge umbrella-like satellite, which is equipped with European technology, has unveiled its first images of the earth's surface.
The probe called “Biomass” was built by a variety of aerospace giants and startups for the European Space Agency (ESA). It Started in April On a Vega-C rocket of Europe's space camp in Kourou, French -Guayana. European Astrotech, a startup based in Great Britain, was responsible for the drive of the satellite before the start.
The mission of biomass is to grasp the most detailed measurements of forest carbon, which have ever been recorded from space. To do the work, the first P-band radar was equipped with the orbit. The aim is to deepen our understanding of changes in the earth forests – and the effects on the global carbon cycle.
This type of radar instrument was built by Airbus and uses long wavelengths that can cut through thick roofs to reach the wood structures underneath, where most of the carbon of a forest is stored.
In addition to the forests, the probe can also map the geology of underground geology in deserts, the structure of ice sheets and forest flooring topography.
Image of the Rio Beni, which meanders through Bolivia's rainforests. It was created with the various polarization channels of the radar instrument. Each color shows different properties of the landscape. For example, green shades mainly represent rainforest, red colors of forested floodplain and wetlands, and blue -Purple points to grassland, while black areas are rivers and lakes. Credit: ESA
Biomass circles earth in a solar synchronous orbit at a height of around 666 kilometers. It transfers pipeadard data from its P-band instrument to the Kiruna flooring station of the ESA in Sweden, where the information is received and sent to processing facilities. There the data is calibrated and converted into usable scientific products such as biomass density cards and forest height models.
After processing, these data records are made accessible via a multi-misshorithm and an analysis platform (MAAP), which was designed by the Belgian tech company Spacebel. With the MAAP, scientists can search for biomass data worldwide directly in the cloud, access and analyze without downloading massive files or manage a complex infrastructure.
Tropical forest on the islands in the Halmahera archipelago, Indonesia. The biomass-P-band radar is not only an insight into rainforests, but also shows topographical features because its long wavelength can penetrate into the forest floor. Credit: ESA
The task of the huge umbrella is to guide radar impulses from the P band radar instrument, which is mounted on the body of the satellite down to the forests below. When the radar signals hit the surface of the earth, they jump back.
The rain peak man built by the US space company L3Harris catches the returning signals and forwards them to the satellites. From there, the onboard systems process the data to create detailed 3D cards from global biomass and other characteristics in the landscape.
A look over the Amazon rainforest in northern Brazil. Pink and red colors show the presence of wetlands. The dominance of the red tones along the river indicates that forested floodplain, while the northern area, which is shown in rich green, shows rough topography and density, continuous forest cover. Credit: ESA.
Michael Fehringer, ESA's project manager for Biomass, said that the satellite was still in the commissioning phase – the period of the test and the calibration after the start. He expects even better data over time.
“Biomass is equipped with new space technology, so we have carefully monitored its performance in orbit, and we are very happy to report that everything works smoothly and its first pictures are almost spectacular – and they are just a mere look at what will still come.”
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