One Planet News: Protecting forests from space
British satellite for forest protection
By Annette J Beveridge
A British-built satellite looks to become the first in the world to measure the condition of the Earth’s forests from space.
The aim is to protect future generations from climate breakdown, and to accelerate the transition to net zero.
The satellite is called Biomass and was built in the UK in its entirety. The launch takes place on Tuesday, April 29 from Europe’s spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.
Information gained will be crucial to helping to understand how tropical forests are changing, with protection in mind.
The Biomass satellite will be able to penetrate cloud cover and measure forest biomass more accurately than any current technology which can only see the top of the canopy.
This satellite will provide more accurate data looking at the carbon budget and leading to a better understanding of carbon sink and sources required to develop and utilise for net zero goals.
The extent of habitat loss and the impact on forest biodiversity will be revealed.
The construction supported approximately 250 highly skilled jobs at Airbus UK, in Stevenage,
