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
Go to topicThank you for liking
You have already liked this page, you can only like it once!
Since they absorb and store large amounts of carbon from the atmosphere, forests are a crucial part of Earth’s carbon cycle. They are also vital to the health of our planet and to all its inhabitants. Over 1.6 billion people worldwide depend on forests directly for timber, food, fuel, jobs and shelter. Forest degradation impacts environmental health and human well-being. When trees are removed or burned, much of the stored carbon is released back into the atmosphere, intensifying climate change.
ESA's Biomass mission is designed to measure forest biomass, and to further our knowledge of the role forests play in the carbon cycle.