NASA Armstrong & JPL Take Flight to Study California's Wildfire Burn Areas

NASA Monitors Disasters to Help with Recovery

From space and in the air, our fleet of satellites and aircraft are observing the effects of natural disasters and providing information to local governments to aid their recovery efforts. In addition to working with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to provide updates on hurricanes, we’re tracking the extent of the burn areas and studying the chemistry of the record-setting wild fires in the Western United States. For more than five decades, our agency has used the vantage point of space to understand and explore our home planet, improve lives and safeguard our future. We bring together technology, science, and unique global Earth observations to provide societal benefits and strengthen our nation.

Fire and Smoke – Our satellites image the wildfires from space, as scientists are flying over burn areas, using smoke-penetrating technology to better understand the damage. We flew our powerful Uninhabited Air Vehicle Synthetic Aperture Radar (UAVSAR) this month, beginning a science campaign to learn more about wildfires that have scorched vast areas of California.