Spotting bushfires from space
NOAA Satellite images of the 2019 bushfires in Australia. Credit: Wikimedia commons.
Storm-chasing drones, smart water bombers, and a constellation of bushfire-spotting satellites could be the key to reducing Australia’s devastating bushfire toll.
Imagine lightning strikes a tree in a deep, dry valley. A satellite equipped with infrared sensors detects it within minutes and notifies a drone. The camera-equipped drone zips to the site, and the blaze is confirmed (since satellites can have high rates of false alarms).
Then a C-130 plane, flying high and safe overhead, drops a water-carrying glider with an automated guidance system over the fire, putting it out before it can become a devastating bushfire.
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