Biomass, the European satellite that will study tropical forests in 3D, is launched

Taking off right on time, at 11:15 and 52 seconds Italian time, the Vega C rocket carrying Biomass, Europe's innovative new mission to analyse tropical forests in 3D.

The rocket drew an arc in the sky above the European Space Centre in Kourou, French Guiana, lit up by the first light of dawn to carry its cargo into an orbit at an altitude of 666 kilometres, from which it will work for five years to quantify in unprecedented detail the real contribution of forests to the global carbon cycle, a vital piece of information for predicting the evolution of climate change.