Biomass and the Vega-C launch adapter

With liftoff set for 29 April 2025 from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana on a Vega-C rocket, ESA's Biomass satellite is about to be mated to the launch adapter. The adapter connects the satellite to the Vega-C rocket that will launch it.

Once in orbit, Biomass will deliver novel information about the state of our forests, how they are changing over time, and advance our knowledge of the carbon cycle. It is the first satellite to carry a fully polarimetric P-band synthetic aperture radar for interferometric imaging. Thanks to the long wavelength of P-band, around 70 cm, the radar signal can slice through the whole forest layer to measure the ‘biomass’, meaning the woody trunks, branches and stems, which is where trees store most of their carbon.