Mission to Planet Earth Technology Aids in Fire Fighting
-Information excerpted from NASA Press Release 95-116.
A NASA research aircraft played a critical role in fighting a major fire that threatened life and property in the Scottsdale and Fountain Hills areas of Arizona last summer. The plane, a C-130B based at Ames Research Center (ARC) was in the area collecting geological data for Mission to Planet Earth. The plane was equipped with a host of data-gathering devices and photographic equipment, including thermal scanners able to penetrate thick smoke and clouds.
Observers on the plane saw the fire while on approach to Phoenix on July 8. Mission manager Chris Jennison obtained clearance from ARC to document the fire and assist local emergency management personnel. Three high-altitude flights with the ability to cover a wide area were immediately flown and data were recorded on videotape. These tapes were delivered to Scottsdale officials upon arrival at Sky Harbor airport for use by the incident commander, Jeff Whitney. Subsequently, additional help with flights before dawn on July 9 were requested.
Because the on-board instruments had the capability to penetrate both smoke and darkness, and peer into hidden canyons, local mapping experts and other observers aboard the C-130B were able to record changes and significant events within the fire perimeter and transfer that information to command maps for rapid distribution to fire-fighting personnel. The aircraft provided visual evidence of the existence and location of dangerous remaining hotspots on its black-and-white video monitors.
"NASA played a direct role in controlling the 23,000 acre fire that threatened the communities of Scottsdale and Fountain Hills this weekend," Wilson Orr of the Scottsdale City Manager's Office said in a letter to NASA Administrator Dan Goldin dated July 12. "The C-130 based at Ames Research Center was made available with its unique instrumentation capabilities, which include infrared sensors capable of fire detection. This use of Mission to Planet Earth resources to help us manage local emergencies for the preservation of life and property is a significant return on taxpayer investment. We appreciate the practical value of this program."
"With pre-dawn flights, we were able to accurately identify the fire perimeter showing overnight changes in fire intensity and spread," Orr said. "This was invaluable information in deploying limited resources to protect threatened life and property. The C-130 crew also identified a two-mile change in the fire front which let the fire team deploy this morning with greater accuracy and safety."
[Table of Contents]
[Previous]