P-band radar image captured from an aircraft

As part of the post-launch activities for the Biomass mission, scientists from several institutes – including the German Aerospace Center (DLR), the Gabonese Agency for Space Studies and Observations (AGEOS) and the Gabonese Air Force – took part in an ambitious ESA airborne field campaign to support the calibration of Biomass.

The campaign involved an aircraft equipped with a synthetic aperture radar system specifically designed for airborne operations, which acquired detailed images of the tropical forest below. Several flights were carefully timed to closely coincide with Biomass overpasses and collect near-simultaneous radar observations.

These airborne data are now being compared with the satellite measurements to further assess calibration accuracy and validate the overall performance of the Biomass mission.

Read full story: ESA’s Biomass goes live with data now open to all