The European Space Agency (ESA) is Europe’s gateway to space. Its mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.
Find out more about space activities in our 23 Member States, and understand how ESA works together with their national agencies, institutions and organisations.
Exploring our Solar System and unlocking the secrets of the Universe
Go to topicProtecting life and infrastructure on Earth and in orbit
Go to topicUsing space to benefit citizens and meet future challenges on Earth
Go to topicMaking space accessible and developing the technologies for the future
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ESA’s Biomass is the first satellite to carry a P-band synthetic aperture radar. Thanks to the long wavelength of P-band, around 70 cm, this novel radar is able to penetrate through the forest canopy, allowing it to collect information on different parts of the forest, such tree trunks, branches and stems – which is where trees store most of their carbon.
The radar is fully polarimetric, which means it is capable of transmitting and receiving in two orthogonal linear polarisations, horizontal and vertical. The different signals in each polarisation channel are needed to yield different information about the forest.