- Photo credit ESA - Bolivian forest and landscape from Biomass
Serco is proud to be playing a key role in the European Space Agency’s Biomass mission — a satellite initiative designed to help us better understand climate change.
Together with partners Werum, Exprivia and Deimos, Serco is preparing to take over the day-to-day operations of the satellite’s ground data systems. These systems manage and process all the information collected from space.
Why Biomass matters?
The Biomass satellite is focused on forests. It uses a powerful radar to measure the amount of biomass — such as trees and vegetation — across the planet. This data helps scientists understand how forests store carbon, and how changes in forest health affect the climate.
What Serco is doing?
Serco is leading the consortium that will manage the satellite’s data systems — known as the Payload Data Ground Segment (PDGS) — once the mission enters its routine operations phase later this year (expected October 2025).
This work includes:
- Planning the mission timeline
- Processing raw data received from the satellite
- Monitoring performance end-to-end
- Maintaining key software systems
- Managing technical operations and service delivery
In the final months before launch, Serco was also asked to replace the existing shared infrastructure with a new, mission-specific system — a significant challenge, but one the team delivered on time.
The commissioning is going well, and the team is standing by, ready to step in fully as soon as ESA gives the green light.
Stay tuned for more updates as the mission progresses.