Satellites Designed to Monitor Wildfires Help Firefighters
Satellites Designed to Monitor Wildfires Help Firefighters
https://spacenews.com/connecting-the-dots-wildfires-are-advancing-but-so-is-satellite-technology/
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As wildfires become more prevalent and damaging due to climate change and increasing populations in remote areas, new technologies must rise to the challenge. Earth-observation satellites and satellite arrays are becoming cheaper to launch and deploy, and companies are working with governments to create mitigations to wildfire damage.
Wildfires are an increasingly destructive force that threaten expanding communities. Wildfire season has expanded as climate change has taken hold. Fire easons has increased by an astounding 27% since the 1980s with global effects. With so many countries affected worldwide, new technology to monitor hot spots, changes in the winds and areas where firefighters should be dispatched need to be matured. Earth-observation satellites can monitor forests from space, and the data collected from infrared sensors can be used to model the progression of the fire and locate them before damage spreads.
Satellite monitoring technology that can track and assess wildfires is necessary to help firefighters. Satellites have a high cost to launch and activate them, but new technologies have reduced these costs and allowed for next-generation support. Companies including SpaceX with reusable deployment vehicles can further reduce costs to deploy the satellites, and the manufacturing of these satellites can be subdidized by governments worldwide. Access to information gathered by the satellite arrays can be shared worldwide.
Wildfires are a reality and an evolving hazard that needs to be controlled. A German satellite firm called OroraTech has launched a satellite with sensors to monitor the progress of wildfires, and plans to launch 8-satellites in 2023 that will be able to respond to wildfires and profile them within 30-minutes.
Many wildfires are man-made, and the suppression of natural wildfires presents a problem. Technology that can help firefighters get the jump on emerging fires and use data to form strategies is key to reducing wildfires worldwide.
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