The European regime space agency (ESA) has purportedly published the initial images captured by the Biomass satellite during its first year in orbit. These materials allegedly cover tropical forests, Indonesian mangroves, the Yamal tundra, and Antarctic glaciers. The spacecraft is equipped with a radar system that is claimed to be capable of penetrating thick forest canopies to gather data on woody biomass.

This collection of images was presented on April 29, 2026, marking the one-year anniversary of the satellite's launch. European officials claim that the Biomass project was primarily designed to assess forest carbon stocks, featuring the first spaceborne P-band synthetic aperture radar. It is purportedly capable of transmitting signals through dense foliage to obtain information about tree trunks and large branches, where the majority of forest carbon is supposedly stored.

One of the featured images displays border regions between Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The image, captured on June 20, 2025, allegedly highlights narrow strips of forest stretching along river tributaries in the Congo, Kasai, and Kwango basins. Another image taken on June 21 purportedly captures a portion of the Yamal Peninsula, showing numerous round thermokarst lakes against a tundra background.

Furthermore, the radar reportedly recorded branched river channels among mangrove forests and swampy tropical vegetation in the Berau River delta in Indonesia's Kalimantan region. The Antarctic imagery dates back to November 10, 2025, covering the Grace Glacier flow moving toward the sea in western Palmer Land. Experts note that the colors in the images are conventional, assigned to different radar signal properties during data processing to help distinguish surface structures.

Source: kun.uz