Carrying its sensor pod, NASA's remotely piloted Ikhana unmanned aircraft banks away during a checkout flight in the Western States Fire Mission.

With its thermal-infared sensor pod under its left wing, NASA's Ikhana unmanned aircraft cruises over California during the Western States Fire Mission.

With its sensor pod under its left wing, NASA's remotely piloted Ikhana unmanned aircraft cruises over California during the Western States Fire Mission.

The instruments that make up the Ames Autonomous Module Scanner (AMS) that provided precise thermal-infrared imaging during the Western States Fire Mission in 2007 are detailed in this photo of the AMS as mounted on Ikhana's pod tray. The large foil-covered foam-insulated box at left covers the pressure vessel containing the data system computers and other electronics. The round white-topped assembly is the scan head, including the scan mirror, folded telescope, blackbody references, spectrometer and detectors. Two pressure boxes visible at the forward end of the tray contain the Applanix POS/AV precision navigation subsystem (black) and the power distributor including circuit breakers and ancillary wiring, scan motor controller and the blackbody reference temperature controller (blue).

Nighttime View of California’s Rim Fire

The winter of 2013 was among the driest on record for California, setting the stage for an active fire season. By August 26, the Rim Fire had made its way into the record books. At just 15 percent contained, the fire is now the 13th largest in California since records began in 1932. Apart from being large, the fire is also threatening one of the United States’ greatest natural treasures: Yosemite National Park. The Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on the Suomi NPP satellite tracked the growth of the fire between August 23 and August 26 in this series of nighttime images. The VIIRS day-night band is extremely sensitive to low light, making it possible to see the fire front from space. The brightest, most intense parts of the fire glow white, exceeding the brightness of the lights of Reno, Nevada to the north. Pale gray smoke streams north away from the fire throughout the sequence. The perimeter of the fire grows from day to day along different fronts, depending on winds and fire fighting efforts. On August 24, fire fighters focused their efforts on containing the western edge of the fire to prevent it from burning into Tuolumne City and the populated Highway 108 corridor. They also fought the eastern edge of the fire to protect Yosemite National Park. These efforts are evident in the image: Between August 23 and 24, the eastern edge of the fire held steady, and the western edge receded. The fire grew in the southeast. On the morning of August 25 fire managers reported that the fire was growing in the north and east. In the image, the most intense activity is just inside Yosemite National Park. Fire fighters reported that the Rim Fire continued to be extremely active on its eastern front on the morning of August 26, and this activity is visible in the image. By 8:00 a.m., the fire had burned 149,780 acres. The fire forced firefighters in Yosemite National Park to take measures to protect the Merced and Tuolumne Groves of Giant Sequoias, but the National Park Service reported that the trees were not in imminent danger. While parts of the park are closed, webcams show that most of the park has not been impacted. The Rim Fire started on the afternoon of August 17. It has destroyed 23 structures and threatened 4,500 other buildings. Its cause is under investigation. More details: <a href="http://1.usa.gov/18ilEAA" rel="nofollow">1.usa.gov/18ilEAA</a> NASA Earth Observatory image by Jesse Allen and Robert Simmon, using VIIRS Day Night Band data. Caption by Holli Riebeek. Instrument: Suomi NPP - VIIRS <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelines.html" rel="nofollow">NASA image use policy.</a> <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html" rel="nofollow">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a> enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on <a href="http://twitter.com/NASA_GoddardPix" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a> Like us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greenbelt-MD/NASA-Goddard/395013845897?ref=tsd" rel="nofollow">Facebook</a> Find us on <a href="http://instagram.com/nasagoddard?vm=grid" rel="nofollow">Instagram</a>

Nighttime View of California’s Rim Fire

The winter of 2013 was among the driest on record for California, setting the stage for an active fire season. By August 26, the Rim Fire had made its way into the record books. At just 15 percent contained, the fire is now the 13th largest in California since records began in 1932. Apart from being large, the fire is also threatening one of the United States’ greatest natural treasures: Yosemite National Park. The Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on the Suomi NPP satellite tracked the growth of the fire between August 23 and August 26 in a series of nighttime images. The VIIRS day-night band is extremely sensitive to low light, making it possible to see the fire front from space. The brightest, most intense parts of the fire glow white, exceeding the brightness of the lights of Reno, Nevada to the north. Pale gray smoke streams north away from the fire throughout the sequence. The perimeter of the fire grows from day to day along different fronts, depending on winds and fire fighting efforts. On August 24, fire fighters focused their efforts on containing the western edge of the fire to prevent it from burning into Tuolumne City and the populated Highway 108 corridor. They also fought the eastern edge of the fire to protect Yosemite National Park. These efforts are evident in the image: Between August 23 and 24, the eastern edge of the fire held steady, and the western edge receded. The fire grew in the southeast. On the morning of August 25 fire managers reported that the fire was growing in the north and east. In the image, the most intense activity is just inside Yosemite National Park. Fire fighters reported that the Rim Fire continued to be extremely active on its eastern front on the morning of August 26, and this activity is visible in the image. By 8:00 a.m., the fire had burned 149,780 acres. The fire forced firefighters in Yosemite National Park to take measures to protect the Merced and Tuolumne Groves of Giant Sequoias, but the National Park Service reported that the trees were not in imminent danger. While parts of the park are closed, webcams show that most of the park has not been impacted. The Rim Fire started on the afternoon of August 17. It has destroyed 23 structures and threatened 4,500 other buildings. Its cause is under investigation. More details: <a href="http://1.usa.gov/18ilEAA" rel="nofollow">1.usa.gov/18ilEAA</a> NASA Earth Observatory image by Jesse Allen and Robert Simmon, using VIIRS Day Night Band data. Caption by Holli Riebeek. Instrument: Suomi NPP - VIIRS <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelines.html" rel="nofollow">NASA image use policy.</a> <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html" rel="nofollow">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a> enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on <a href="http://twitter.com/NASA_GoddardPix" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a> Like us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greenbelt-MD/NASA-Goddard/395013845897?ref=tsd" rel="nofollow">Facebook</a> Find us on <a href="http://instagram.com/nasagoddard?vm=grid" rel="nofollow">Instagram</a>

NASA's Ikhana remotely piloted aircraft soars over smoky terrain during a wildfire imaging demonstration mission in the late summer of 2007.

ED07-0186-22

Mile Marker 28 Fire

Eight major wildfires burned through forests and grasslands in the Pacific Northwest in late-July 2013, threatening homes and forcing road closings and evacuations. Many parts of Washington and Oregon faced extreme fire threats, as strong thunderstorms lined up to hit parched forests and grasslands with lightning. On July 28, 2013, the Operational Land Imager (OLI) on Landsat 8 captured these images of the Mile Marker 28 fire in the Simcoe Mountains northeast of Goldendale, Washington. Smoke blew east toward Kennewick, Pasco, and Richland. The lower image shows a closer view of smoke billowing up from the most active part of the fire. Ignited on July 24, 2013, the fire charred more than 22,000 acres (8,900 hectares) by July 30, when more than 1,000 firefighters achieved 40 percent containment. The blaze forced the evacuation of dozens of homes and the closure of US Highway 97. Through July 25, 450 wildfires had burned 10,220 acres (4,136 hectares) in Washington, while Oregon saw 603 fires that burned 63,135 acres (25,549 hectares). In all, 2.3 million acres burned across the United States by late-July, below the national average. Over the past ten years, an average of 4.2 million acres had burned in the United States by the end of each July. While coastal and western Washington receive heavy rain throughout the year, the rain shadow caused by the Cascades leaves central Washington quite dry. The mountains force moist air from the Pacific to rise, causing it to cool and condense into rain or snow on the windward side of the Cascades. So little moisture is left by the time air passes over the Cascades, that the area around Mile Marker 28 typically receives just 8 inches (20 centimeters) of precipitation per year. NASA Earth Observatory image by Jesse Allen and Robert Simmon, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey. Caption by Adam Voiland Instrument: Landsat 8 - OLI More info: <a href="http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=81738" rel="nofollow">earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=81738</a> Credit: <a href="http://www.earthobservatory.nasa.gov/" rel="nofollow"> NASA Earth Observatory</a> <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelines.html" rel="nofollow">NASA image use policy.</a> <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html" rel="nofollow">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a> enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on <a href="http://twitter.com/NASA_GoddardPix" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a> Like us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greenbelt-MD/NASA-Goddard/395013845897?ref=tsd" rel="nofollow">Facebook</a> Find us on <a href="http://instagram.com/nasagoddard?vm=grid" rel="nofollow">Instagram</a>