Program Manager – Haris Riris

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the cost of suppressing wildfires increased from $500 million in 1985 to $3 billion today, with inflation adjusted losses due to wildfires increasing from an average of $30 million in the 1980s to $1 billion today.

ESTO’s newest program element, Technology Development for support of Wildfire Science, Management, and Disaster Mitigation (FireSense Technology), will seek new, innovative Earth system observation capabilities to predict and manage wildfires and their impacts. ESTO’s FireSense Technology program receives support from NASA’s Applied Sciences and Research and Analysis elements, the Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate (ARMD), and the Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) program.

FireSense Technology will work closely with interagency partners such as NOAA, the U.S. Forestry Service, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, the National Interagency Fire Center, and others. In doing so, FireSense Technology will leverage NASA resources to improve the end-to-end management of wildfires in the United States and around the world.

Over the next 5-6 years, FireSense Technology will execute a series of airborne field campaigns to test novel technologies for reducing impact of wildfires. These technologies will make use of broad capabilities in instrument and information technology, along with new observing platforms in space, in the air, and on the ground. At the end of this 5-6 year period, FireSense Technology will launch a capstone mission that will demonstrate the full value of its researched technologies for wildfire management.

To learn more about NASA’s overall role in improving wildland fire management, including information about field campaigns, visit the dedicated NASA FireSense Program website.  

FireSense Technology Projects

• AI-Enabled Drone Swarms for Fire Detection, Mapping, and Modeling
• CFI: The Airborne Compact Fire Imager
• Distributed Spacecraft with Heuristic Intelligence to Monitor Wildfire Spread
• Integrating Innovative Observation Capabilities into Coupled Wildfire Models
• PIRS: Pyro-Atmosphere Infrared Sounder
• Towards a NUWRF and AI-based Mega Wildfire Digital Twin (WDT)
• UAS Thermal Infrared Spectroscopy for Active WildFire Monitoring

Wildfire Climate Tech Challenge

NASA’s Wildfire Climate Tech Challenge, part of the MSI Incubator initiative, seeks innovative solutions for wildfire prevention and climate technology. NASA invites students and employees of Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) to address the escalating issues caused by wildfires exacerbated by climate change. Successful participants will have the opportunity to join a startup incubator program and compete for a prize of $100,000. Additionally, this initiative offers a platform for participants to present their ideas to venture capitalists and NASA experts, furthering the development of technology in the fields of wildfire prevention and climate change, while promoting inclusivity and diversity.

Wildfire Climate Tech Challenge

FireSense Technology Solicitations