Biomass heading for fuelling

Since its arrival at Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana, ESA’s Biomass satellite has been prepared for its liftoff on 29 April. The latest milestone passed, is that Biomass’ propulsion subsystem has been prepared for fuelling. The photograph shows the satellite being towed to the cleanroom where the fuelling will take place.

Once launched and commissioned for its working life in orbit around Earth, this new ESA Earth Explorer mission will demonstrate how new technology can deliver crucial information about the state of our forests and how they are changing, and, importantly, further our knowledge of the role forests play in the carbon cycle.