The UK’s thriving space sector is buzzing with anticipation for two upcoming climate satellite launches that showcase the capabilities across research and industry and Government commitment to climate action: Biomass and MicroCarb.
Biomass is creating such a big stir because it is the first climate mission conceived and built in the UK, as part of an international collaboration led by European Space Agency (ESA). It will also be the first satellite that will study the world’s Tropical Forests in 3D using a P-band tomographic radar.
Biomass climate satellite – measuring forests in 3D
Biomass was conceived by Prof Shaun Quegan, of the National Centre for Earth Observation (NCEO) and based at the University of Sheffield, to address the huge uncertainties in the amount of carbon stored in forests and how this changes with time. His first step was to persuade regulators that the P-Band wavelength could be released for use over Tropical Forests in a climate context, and the mission was adopted by ESA in 2013. Although it has taken until this year to get to the launchpad, forest carbon content estimates are as uncertain now as they were when Biomass was first conceived.
UK Space Agency is a partner with ESA in the mission; the prime contractor is Airbus Defence and Space based at Stevenage, Herts. Other UK entities directly involved are Harwell-based ESA Climate Office, the University of Edinburgh, University College London (UCL), Enersys ABSL, European Astrotech UK and Nammo Cheltenham.
Science-led mission with commercial potential
While Biomass is a science-led mission, its data is keenly anticipated by UK businesses providing services relating to carbon markets and those further afield. Observations from this new mission will lead to better insight into rates of habitat loss and the impact this may be having on biodiversity in the forest environment, providing vital information to support decision making around climate change, adaptation and mitigation.
Space4Climate, NCEO and the UK Space Agency are leading the UK satellite Earth Observation community in marking Biomass’s launch (currently no earlier than April 29th) from ESA’s Kourou spaceport in French Guiana, promoting it through regional and national media and through STEM activities.
However, there is even more launch-pad excitement on the horizon – another UK-conceived mission is due to launch this year: MicroCarb.
MicroCarb climate satellite – a first for UK, France and Europe
MicroCarb is a ground-breaking UK-French bilateral space mission. Led by UK Space Agency and CNES, the French space agency, it will be the first European satellite dedicated to measuring Carbon Dioxide (CO2) – the main greenhouse gas caused by human activity and a key contributor to climate change.
MicroCarb puts the UK at the heart of a major European space mission and strengthens our position in space-based carbon monitoring. UK organisations and scientists are making crucial contributions from satellite payload to quality assurance and analysis of the data.
MicroCarb’s infrared spectrometer, which will measure oxygen and carbon dioxide concentrations at four different spectral bands in sunlight reflected off the Earth, was built by Airbus France. Space4Climate members the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) provided the SI-traceable ground calibration facility to test its performance pre-launch, and Paul Green of NPL is developing algorithms and quality metrics with the MicroCarb team. STFC RAL Space, S4C members based on the Harwell Campus, Oxfordshire, developed the mission’s pointing and calibration system, which will allow MicroCarb to point at specific targets on the ground, such as cities, to take local measurements of CO2 emissions from urban areas. S4C members Thales Alenia Space completed the satellite’s assembly integration and test campaign at RAL Space’s facilities and are responsible for the launch campaign preparations, and members GMV UK designed, implemented and quality assured algorithms and operational processors for several of its CO2 data products.
greenhouse gas – on a global scale. Image: CNES
City emissions monitoring
MicroCarb will monitor Earth’s atmospheric CO2 from space with extreme precision and detect the changes associated with surface emissions and uptake across the world from our cities and forests to our oceans. It will give an extremely high degree of precision of CO2 concentrations, in the order of one part per million, with a pixel size of 4.5x9km2. It also has a special city-scanning observing mode that will allow us, for the first time, to map CO2 emissions across cities which are a large contributor to global emissions. Data from MicroCarb will help to monitor international progress in meeting the Paris Agreement climate target of limiting global surface warming to well below 2ºC of pre-industrial temperatures.
Prof Paul Palmer, of NCEO and the University of Edinburgh, is the UK lead for MicroCarb. He will translate MicroCarb’s CO2 observations into maps to visualise carbon absorption and emissions. Dr Rob Parker is part of the NCEO team delivering the mission’s Solar Induced Fluorescence retrieval algorithm, based on expertise from the University of Leicester.
MicroCarb is due to launch no earlier than July and again, Space4Climate with NCEO and the UK Space Agency are convening the UK satellite EO community to celebrate the occasion with the national media in UK and France, regional UK media and STEM organisations.
Find out how UK EO capabilities can help you
Space4Climate represents the UK’s thriving EO community, bringing together academia/ research, industry and policy, and our core activity is promoting trusted climate data from space for climate research, climate action and climate decisions.
Founded in 2014, Space4Climate puts complex satellite data into language that all can understand and we showcase real-world case studies, focusing on promoting UK capabilities and commercial climate services.
We put the spotlight on UK expertise behind headline-making climate satellites – such as Biomass and MicroCarb – and the difference their data will make for commercial, policy and science users.
Our members include UK leaders in climate research, space and climate industries, and Government agencies, and we are chaired by the UK Space Agency.
Working with the UK Space Agency we represent the UK on national and international stages including the COP world climate summits and we run tailored ‘EO 101s’ for non-space sector organisations and Government Departments.
Visit our website to find out more https://space4climate.com/ and follow us on LinkedIn
Download video and written explainers on Biomass and MicroCarb and other UK-involved climate satellites: https://space4climate.com/category/missions/