N° 19–2025: Media Advisory: Earth Explorer Biomass satellite launch media events

1) Thursday 24 April (09:30 am –10:30 am CEST): online pre-launch briefing in English

Please register here: [link]

This press briefing and Q&A will be held with:

• Simonetta Cheli, ESA Director of Earth Observation Programmes
• Toni Tolker-Nielsen, ESA Director of Space Transportation
• David Cavaillolès, Arianespace CEO
• Marino Fragnito, Avio Chief Commercial Officer and Launch Services Director
• Thuy Le Toan, Co-Principal Investigator of the Biomass mission, CESBIO (Centre d'Etudes Spatiales de la BIOsphère) 
• Justin Byrne, Airbus Head of Science and Mars Programmes
• Rolf Densing, ESA Director of Operations
• Michael Fehringer, ESA Biomass Project Manager 

2) Thursday 24 April (10:30 am -11:30 am CEST) online pre-launch briefing in French

Please register here: [link]

This press briefing and Q&A will be held with:

• Simonetta Cheli, ESA Director of Earth Observation Programmes
• Toni Tolker-Nielsen, ESA Director of Space Transportation
• David Cavaillolès, Arianespace CEO
• Marino Fragnito, Avio Chief Commercial Officer and Launch Services Director
• Dominique Gillieron, ESA Head of Earth Observation Projects Department
• Daniel Mesples, ESA Sentinel-5P and CRISTAL Spacecraft Operations Manager 

3) Thursday 24 April (11:30 am -12:30 pm CEST) online pre-launch briefing in Italian

Please register here: [link]

This press briefing and Q&A will be held with:

• Simonetta Cheli, ESA Director of Earth Observation Programmes
• Renato Lafranconi, ESA VEGA Exploitation Programme Manager
• Fabrizio Fabiani, Arianespace Head of Vega Program
• Marino Fragnito, Avio Chief Commercial Officer and Launch Services Director
• Elia Maestroni, ESA, Spacecraft Operations Manager 

4) Thursday 24 April (2:00 pm-3:00 pm CEST) online pre-launch briefing in German

Please register here: [link] 

This press briefing and Q&A will be held with:

• Rolf Densing, ESA Director of Operations
• Michael Fehringer, ESA Biomass Project Manager
• Stefano Bianchi, ESA Vega Programme Manager
• Marino Fragnito, Avio Chief Commercial Officer and Launch Services Director
• Wolfgang Seefelder, Airbus Head of Microwave Instruments
• Godela Roßner, DLR, Head of Earth Observation Department
• Klaus Scipal, ESA Biomass Mission manager 

5) Tuesday 29 April (08:30 am-1:30 pm CEST): Media launch event at ESA’s European Space Operations Centre (ESOC), Darmstadt, Germany

How to get there: www.esa.int/esoc

Programme

08:30 – Doors open / Security check-in at ESOC
09:00–10:00      Media briefing in Press Centre, Q & A, interviews, visit of satellite control rooms
10:00–10:45      Doors open to high-level stage programme in conference centre

10:45–12:45      Stage show including live TV feed from Europe’s Spaceport via Arianespace.

• Vega C launcher liftoff at 11:15 CEST
• Separation of Biomass in orbit at 12:13 CEST
• Acquisition of Signal via ESOC expected around 12:27 CEST

13:00                End of stage event, visit of main control room (subject to on-going operations)

13:30-14:30      Further interviews in Press Centre – followed by closing doors at ESOC 

Key spokespeople and senior experts from ESA, Airbus, scientific partners and other user communities will be available on site for interviews including: 

• Rolf Densing, ESA Director of Operations, Head of ESOC
• Dominique Gillieron, ESA Head of Earth Observation Projects Department
• Nicolaus Hanowski, Head of Mission Management and Ground Segment Dept, ESA Earth Observation
• Klaus Scipal, Biomass Mission Manager, ESA Earth Observation
• Jose Morales, ESA Biomass Flight Operations Director
• Rüdiger Hartwich, Airbus Head of Institutional and German Programs
• Wolfgang Seefelder, Airbus Defence and Space, Head of Microwave Instruments
• Godela Roßner, DLR, Head of Earth Observation Department
• Shaun Quegan, Co-Principal Investigator of the Biomass mission, University of Sheffield

Please register here [link] for the media event at ESOC by 24 April. 

6) Tuesday 29 April (08:15 am GFT - Kourou,French Guiana / 1:15 pm CEST): Post launch press conference

Following the launch, a press conference will be organised on site in Kourou. The press conference will be broadcast live on youtube, and a WhatsApp group will be set up for journalists wishing to send their questions to the speakers. 

Please register here [link] to receive the youtube link and join the WhatsApp group by 24 April. 

Registration: Please express interest by selecting and completing the relevant form at https://blogs.esa.int/forms/esa-media-briefing-form 

About the Biomass mission

Forests are vital to the health of the planet and the carbon cycle, absorbing and storing significant amounts of carbon from the atmosphere, which helps regulate the planet’s climate. However, widespread deforestation releases this stored carbon back into the atmosphere, intensifying climate change.

ESA’s Biomass is the first satellite to carry a P-band synthetic aperture radar capable of penetrating the forest canopy to measure the biomass and height of forests, consistently across the globe and across different forest types. This information will be used to work out how much biomass – a proxy for carbon – is being stored in forests, and, thus, yield a better understanding of how forests are changing over time. In addition, the Biomass mission will map subsurface geology in deserts, the ice structure of ice sheets and the topography of forest floors.

The satellite will spend at least five years making detailed observations and witnessing at least eight growth cycles in the world’s forests. Data from the mission will improve current assessments and future projections of the global carbon cycle, which is critical given the climate crisis. Observations from this new mission will also lead to better insight into the rates of habitat loss and, as a result, the effect this may have on biodiversity in the forest environment. 

Further information on Biomass

Biomass background information and latest news: www.esa.int/biomass

ESA Earth Observation Programmes: www.esa.int/eo

ESA: www.esa.int

Images

https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Missions/Biomass/(result_type)/images

https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Directorates/Observing_the_Earth/(result_type)/images 

Terms and conditions for using ESA images:

https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Terms_and_conditions_of_use_of_images_and_videos_available_on_the_esa_website 

For questions or more information related to ESA images, please contact directly: spaceinimages@esa.int

Videos

https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Missions/Biomass/(result_type)/videos

https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/(archive)/0/(type)/video

https://www.esa.int/esatv/Videos_for_Professionals 

Terms and conditions for using ESA videos:

https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Terms_and_conditions_of_use_of_images_and_videos_available_on_the_esa_website 

For questions or more information related to ESA videos, please contact directly: spaceinvideos@esa.int

Social media

Follow ESA on: 
X: @esa @ESA_EO, https://x.com/ESA_transport

Bluesky: @esa Bluesky, https://bsky.app/profile/transport.esa.int
Instagram: @europeanspaceagency @ESA_Earth 
Facebook: EuropeanSpaceAgency 
YouTube: ESA 
LinkedIn: European Space Agency - ESA 
Pinterest: European Space Agency - ESA

About the European Space Agency

The European Space Agency (ESA) provides Europe’s gateway to space.

ESA is an intergovernmental organisation, created in 1975, with the mission to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space delivers benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.

ESA has 23 Member States: Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Latvia, Lithuania and Slovakia are Associate Members.

ESA has established formal cooperation with other four Member States of the EU. Canada takes part in some ESA programmes under a Cooperation Agreement.

By coordinating the financial and intellectual resources of its members, ESA can undertake programmes and activities far beyond the scope of any single European country. It is working in particular with the EU on implementing the Galileo and Copernicus programmes as well as with Eumetsat for the development of meteorological missions.

Learn more about ESA at www.esa.int