{"id":181675,"date":"2025-03-01T08:42:15","date_gmt":"2025-02-28T22:42:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/?p=828577"},"modified":"2025-03-01T08:42:15","modified_gmt":"2025-02-28T22:42:15","slug":"nasa-uses-new-technology-to-understand-california-wildfires","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=181675","title":{"rendered":"NASA Uses New Technology to Understand California Wildfires"},"content":{"rendered":"
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3 min read<\/p>\n

Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The Compact Fire Infrared Radiance Spectral tracker, or C-FIRST, is managed an operated by NASA\u2019s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and supported by NASA\u2019s Earth Science Technology Office. Combining state-of-the-art imaging technology with a compact design, C-FIRST enables scientists to gather data about fires and their impacts on ecosystems with greater accuracy and speed than other instruments. C-FIRST was developed as a spaceborne instrument, and flew onboard NASA\u2019s B200 aircraft in January 2025 to conduct an airborne test.<\/div>\n
NASA\/JPL-Caltech<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The January wildfires in California devastated local habitats and communities. In an effort to better understand wildfire behavior, NASA scientists and engineers tried to learn from the events by testing new technology.<\/p>\n

The new instrument, the Compact Fire Infrared Radiance Spectral Tracker (c-FIRST), was tested when NASA\u2019s B200 King Air aircraft flew over the wildfires in the Pacific Palisades and Altadena, California. Based at NASA\u2019s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, the aircraft used the c-FIRST instrument to observe the impacts of the fires in near real-time. Due to its small size and ability to efficiently simulate a satellite-based mission, the B200 King Air<\/a> is uniquely suited for testing c-FIRST.<\/p>\n

Managed and operated by NASA\u2019s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, c-FIRST gathers thermal infrared images in high-resolution and other data about the terrain to study the impacts of wildfires on ecology. In a single observation, c-FIRST can capture the full temperature range across a wide area of wildland fires \u2013 as well as the cool, unburned background \u2013 potentially increasing both the quantity and quality of science data produced.<\/p>\n

\u201cCurrently, no instrument is able to cover the entire range of attributes for fires present in the Earth system,\u201d said Sarath Gunapala, principal investigator for c-FIRST at NASA JPL. \u201cThis leads to gaps in our understanding of how many fires occur, and of crucial characteristics like size and temperature.\u201d<\/p>\n

For decades, the quality of infrared images has struggled to convey the nuances of high-temperature surfaces above 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit (550 degrees Celsius). Blurry resolution and light saturation of infrared images has inhibited scientists\u2019 understanding of an extremely hot terrain, and thereby also inhibited wildfire research. Historically, images of extremely hot targets often lacked the detail scientists need to understand the range of a fire\u2019s impacts on an ecosystem.<\/p>\n

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NASA\u2019s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, flew the B200 King Air in support of the Signals of Opportunity Synthetic Aperture Radar (SoOpSAR) campaign on Feb. 27, 2023.<\/div>\n
NASA\/Steve Freeman<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

To address this, NASA\u2019s Earth Science Technology Office<\/a> supported JPL\u2019s development of the c-FIRST instrument, combining state-of-the-art imaging technology with a compact and efficient design. When c-FIRST was airborne, scientists could detect smoldering fires more accurately and quickly, while also gathering important information on active fires in near real-time.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese smoldering fires can flame up if the wind picks up again,\u201d said Gunapala. \u201cTherefore, the c-FIRST data set could provide very important information for firefighting agencies to fight fires more effectively.\u201d<\/p>\n

For instance, c-FIRST data can help scientists estimate the likelihood of a fire spreading in a certain landscape, allowing officials to more effectively monitor smoldering fires and track how fires evolve. Furthermore, c-FIRST can collect detailed data that can enable scientists to understand how an ecosystem may recover from fire events.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe requirements of the c-FIRST instrument meet the flight profile of the King Air,\u201d said KC Sujan, operations engineer for the B200 King Air. \u201cThe c-FIRST team wanted a quick integration, the flight speed in the range 130 and 140 knots on a level flight, communication and navigation systems, and the instruments power requirement that are perfectly fit for King Air\u2019s capability.\u201d <\/p>\n

By first testing the instrument onboard the B200 King Air, the c-FIRST team can evaluate its readiness for future satellite missions investigating wildfires. On a changing planet where wildfires are increasingly common, instruments like c-FIRST could provide data that can aid firefighting agencies to fight fires more effectively, and to understand the ecosystemic impacts of extreme weather events.<\/p>\n

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