'Weighing' the Earth's forests from Space

The whole school, including Year 3, felt very fortunate to have the opportunity this week to speak to some of the scientists involved in designing and launching a new satellite in a few days’ time. One of our parents is involved in this and is currently working in South America in the lead up to the launch from French Guiana.

The satellite, named the Earth Explorer Biomass satellite and built by Airbus, aims to fill the gap in our understanding of carbon capture by developing maps of the carbon stored in our rainforests across the globe. The satellite will orbit Earth for seven years and it is hoped that it will help scientists to better understand the carbon cycle on Earth and how changes in land use and deforestation are contributing to higher carbon emissions into our atmosphere. The satellite will launch on a Vega-C rocket next Tuesday morning at around 10:15 UK time.