ESA’s biomass satellite brings 1st views on the earth from a job (photos)

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Vienna, Austria – An exclamation of awe, excitement and cheers today broke out on Esa’s Living Planet Symposium as a striking new window in the forests of the earth, deserts and glaciers opened with the release of the first images of the satellite of Esa’s biomass.

Unveiled on the Living Planet Symposium 2025 in Vienna, mark the images an important milestone in our understanding of how the earth stores carbon – and how climate change transforms ecosystems.

Only two months after the launch, ESA’s Biomass Mission fulfills all its promise and offers a glimpse into the potential of his new radar system. Although the mission is still in its commissioning phase, the early images already show the possibilities of the satellite.

“These first images are downright spectacular – and they are just a glimpse of what is still going,” said Michael Fehringer, ESA’s Biomass Project Manager, in a statement. “Like routine, we are still in the commissioning phase, whereby the satellite is coordinated to ensure that it provides the data of the highest quality for scientists to accurately determine how much carbon is stored in the forests of the world.”

ESA leaders already praise the efforts of the many scientists behind the program. “It was extremely emotional because it was the work of hundreds of people,” said Simonetta Cheli, Simonetta Cheli, Esa’s director of Earth Observation Programs, Space.com in an interview. “It is very symbolic for the effort behind the scenes and the potential that this mission has.”

Biomass First Images

Bolivia – Tropical Forests and the Beni River

This first image catches a lively region of Bolivia, where rainforest meets river -like floodplains. Bolivia has had a considerable deforestation, mainly because of the expansion of agriculture. In the image, different colors emphasize different ecosystems: green for rainforest, red for wooded wetlands and floodplains, and blue-purple for grasslands. The dark winding line of the river Beni-free running and undo-made through the landscape.

“It shows the beauty of our earth and what we can do to protect it,” Cheli said in a press conference after the biomass image release on the Living Planet symposium, Vienna.

Bolivia-Biomassa vs Sentinel-2 comparison

The same Bolivian landscape is shown in this paired image as seen by biomass and by Copernicus Sentinel-2. Although they can seem visually comparable, only biomass catches, with its penetrating P-band radar, the full vertical forest structure under the canopy. This makes it much more effective in measuring forest biomass and carbon content. While Sentinel-2 is limited to surface functions, biomass unlocks a 3D view of forests that are essential for accurate carbon calculation.

Brazil – Noord -Amazon Rainforest

This striking view over Noord -Brazil was the first image that was returned by Biomassa. The radar of the satellite reveals subtle grounds and vegetation differences in the Amazon Region forest. Red and pink tones indicate wooded wetlands and floodplains, especially along rivers, while the green areas display dense forest and more rugged topography in the north. The image indicates the potential of biomass to control the health and structure of the forest in the remote, ecologically critical areas of the Amazon basin.

Indonesia – Halmahera’s volcanic rain forests

This image contains the mountainous Halmahera -Regenerter in Indonesia and reveals complex topography formed by volcanic forces. Mount Gamkonora, still active, is visible near the north coast. Despite dense vegetation, the radar of biomass can penetrate the canopy to uncover the contours of volcanoes and the surrounding forest floor. It is a striking example of the power of the satellite to map both biomass and terrain, crucial for understanding the landscape dynamics of tectonic and volcanically active regions.

Gabon – Forests and Ivindo -River

In this image, biomass leads in the heart of the Congo basin of Africa, where they conquer the dense forests of Gabon and the winding Ivindo River, an ecological lifeline. The river and its tributaries clearly appear against a rich green background that represents an uninterrupted rainforest.

Chaan – Sahara -Design structure

Here biomass reveals hidden structures under the sand of the Sahara in northern Chad, including parts of the Tibesti Mountains. The P-Bandradar can penetrate up to five meters below the desert surface, which exposed the shapes of old river beds and geological formations that have long been buried under the terrain. This possibility opens new boundaries in paleo climate research and groundwater mapping, especially in extreme environments that are once considered too opaque for teledetection.

Antarctica – Nimrod Glacier and Transantarctic mountains

The final image shows the frozen landscape of Antarctica, where the Nimrod glacier flows along the Ross Ice board along the transantarctic mountains. The radar of biomass can look into the ice and point to its ability to follow internal ice structures and flow rates. Unlike radar missions with shorter wavelength, biomass can unlock important data on the dynamics and stability of the ice cap, crucial for understanding future sea level rise in a warming world.

Although these early results have not yet been calibrated for scientific analysis, they confirm that biomass is on their way to achieve the ambitious goals – and possibly surpass.

With a mission designed to tension for five years, biomass will offer a consistent, global coverage of the wooded regions of the earth that contribute essential data for climate models, conservation efforts and CO2 accounting. While the satellite turns into the entire operational mode, scientists eagerly anticipate the data sets that can transform the way we control and protect the living lungs of our planet.