The Biomass probe that has been put into space by ESA is looking to log trees - but it's not the kind of logging commonly associated with forests. During the next five years, this antenna will be using P-band radar transmissions to collect data on how much carbon is stored in trees on a number of continents -- and thus gauge climate change as a result of deforestation According to a report by the BBC, this kind of satellite, with an antenna that is 12m in diameter, is he first of its kind for such a mission. The band's relatively long wavelength is an asset because it permits the signals to see deeply inside forests in a manner scientists have compared to how a CT-scan operates..
The idea was proposed by the National Centre for Earth Observation whose director, John Remedios, told the BBC that the goal is to [quote] "interrogate these forests." [endquote]