NASA responds to California's wildfire emergency imaging request

Terra Daily: A remotely piloted aircraft carrying a NASA sensor flew over much of California earlier this week, gathering information that will be used to help fight more than 300 wildfires burning within the state. Additional flights are planned for next week. The flights by NASA's unmanned Ikhana aircraft are using a sophisticated Autonomous Modular Scanner developed at NASA's Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, Calif. The flights are originating from NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.

Ikhana's onboard sensor can detect temperature differences from less than one-half degree to approximately 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit. The scanner operates like a digital camera with specialized filters to detect light energy at visible, infrared and thermal wavelengths.

NASA and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Forest Service have partnered to obtain imagery of the wildfires in response to requests from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services and the National Interagency Fire Center....

NASA image of October 2003 wildfires, Wikimedia Commons