This satellite will measure carbon in rainforests

A groundbreaking satellite that could measure the amount of carbon the world’s rainforests store was launched by the European Space Agency (ESA) this week in the Amazon region.

Rainforests in the Congo, Indonesia, Amazon, and more hold over 1.5 trillion trees. These forests store billions of tons of carbon and reduce the effects of climate change.

However, their dense canopy has made it impossible to study what lies beneath.

Nicknamed the “space brolly” for its giant 12-meter antenna, the Biomass satellite uses a unique long-wavelength P-band radar that can penetrate thick treetops to scan trunks and branches below.

Scientists hope to release the first carbon maps within six months and continue collecting data for five years.

Decades in the making, this mission aims to produce the first highly accurate global maps of rainforest carbon storage—critical for tracking both carbon locked in forests and losses due to deforestation.