24.07.2018

Clemessy Switzerland has been selected by Airbus Defence & Space in Germany for the design, development, integration and delivery of the Electrical Ground Support Equipment aimed to test and validate the unique instrument of the BIOMASS satellite.
BIOMASS is a European Space Agency program which is dedicated to observe the evolution of the forest density on our planet.

The Earth Explorer BIOMASS will provide global maps of the amount of carbon stored in the world's forests and how this changes over time, mainly through absorbing carbon dioxide, which is released from burning fossil fuels.
Biomass will also provide essential support to UN treaties on the reduction of emissions from deforestation and forest degradation.

Forest type and forest cover worldwide can be detected by today's satellites, but BIOMASS will take the information to the next level. Due for launch in 2021, the satellite will carry the first P-band synthetic aperture radar, able to deliver accurate maps of tropical, temperate and boreal forest biomass.
The global mass of trees is not obtainable by ground measurement techniques. The five-year mission will witness at least eight growth cycles in the world's forests.

Observations from this new mission will also lead to better insight into rates of habitat loss and, therefore, the effect this may have on biodiversity in the forest environment.