ESA releases images of Earth unlike anything you’ve seen before

The European Space Agency (ESA) has released some spectacular images of the Earth unlike anything you have seen before. The images come from its Biomass satellite mission, which takes a look at how the Earth’s forests are changing and how they contribute to the global carbon cycle – but it seems that satellite could show so much more (Picture: ESA)

What is Biomass?

The ESA’s Biomass satellite was only launched on April 29, 2025, and was developed within the ESA’s FutureEO programme. The satellite is the first one to carry a P-band synthetic aperture radar, which is a type of radar long radio wavelengths (P-band) to penetrate dense vegetation and other materials, allowing it to map and measure forest biomass, ground deformation, and subsurface features. These measurements serve as a proxy for carbon storage, which the mission is designed to do (Picture: ESA)

ESA’s Biomass Project Manager, Michael Fehringer, commented: ‘As is routine, we’re still in the commissioning phase, fine-tuning the satellite to ensure it delivers the highest quality data for scientists to accurately determine how much carbon is stored in the world’s forests' (image shows a desert in Chad) (Picture: ESA)

'Biomass is equipped with novel space technology, so we’ve been closely monitoring its performance in orbit, and we’re very pleased to report that everything is functioning smoothly and its first images are nothing short of spectacular – and they’re only a mere glimpse of what is still to come’ (image shows the Nimrod Glacier in the Antarctic) (Picture: ESA)

What do the images show?

The satellite's first images reveal part of Bolivia, which has experienced significant deforestation and ranks high globally for primary forest loss, which is primarily driven by forest clearance for agricultural expansion. The vibrancy of the image was created by the radar instrument’s different polarisation channels, with each colour revealing distinct characteristics of the landscape. Green represents rainforest, red hues show forested floodplains and wetlands, blue-purple is indicative of grasslands, and black areas are rivers and lakes (Picture: ESA)

Another image is the very first acquisition that Biomass returned, and shows a striking view of the Amazon rainforest over Brazil. In the southern areas of the image, pink and red hues reveal the presence of wetlands showing off how deep Biomass can peer into the forest floor. The red tones along the river indicate forested floodplains, while the northern area, depicted in rich green, reveals more rugged topography and dense, continuous forest cover (Picture: ESA)

Another image is compared to an image of the same area from Copernicus Sentinel-2, another European mission. It shows that Biomass offers significantly more information for quantifying forest carbon stocks. The ESA said: ‘This is primarily thanks to its long-wavelength radar, which can penetrate the canopy and characterise the entire forest structure. In contrast, the optical Sentinel-2 image captures only the top of the canopy’ (Picture: ESA)

Biomass also took a look at Indonesia, specifically the Halmahera rainforest, situated in mountainous terrain, much of which has volcanic origins. The area has several active volcanoes, such as Mount Gamkonora, visible near the northern coast in this image. But it also shows that Biomass can show topographic features, as its long wavelength can penetrate down to the forest floor (Picture: ESA)

A fifth image shows Gabon in Africa. The image clearly shows the Ivindo River, but other than the river and tributaries, the image is predominantly green – which shows a dense forest. But Biomass can also show dry sand and go as deep as five metres. This can be used to help understand the past climate and also help prospect fossil water resources in desert regions. As well as land and sand, Biomass can see through ice and gather valuable information on ice velocity and the internal structure of the ice – capabilities that shorter wavelength radars cannot achieve effectively (Picture: ESA)