These are the first images from a new satellite mapping the world’s forests

These are the first images from the European Space Agency’s Biomass satellite, now orbiting Earth to map forests and measure how much carbon they store. Designed by Airbus, the 1.5-tonne satellite uses radar that can see through dense canopies, desert sands and even ice sheets.

In Bolivia’s Rio Beni region, rainforest shows as green, wetlands as red, and grasslands as blue and purple. In Indonesia’s Halmahera rainforest, the satellite maps vegetation across mountainous islands. The satellite measures both the height and volume of vegetation, and the topography underneath.

The radar can also reveal buried landscapes, such as the terrain beneath the Sahara’s Tibesti Mountains and Antarctica’s Nimrod Glacier. These capabilities allow scientists to better understand ecosystems beyond just forested regions.

Forests absorb 7.6 billion tonnes of CO2 annually. But their ability to do so is declining due to deforestation and land use change, which accounts for up to a quarter of CO2 emissions. This satellite will help track those changes more accurately and support climate strategies.

Watch the video to see how new space technology is helping protect forests and combat climate change.