MOFFETT FIELD, Calif. – Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger visited NASA’s Ames Research Center today to see first-hand how the agency is helping firefighters battle the widespread wildfires raging throughout the state.
During a brief visit this morning, Schwarzenegger reviewed firefighting data used to display visible light and fire imagery. He also saw a demonstration of the hyperwall-2, a high-resolution visualization system displaying images from the wildfires, and held a news briefing.
“The men and women of NASA are proud to be able to use their expertise to help the state fight these wildfires and it was an honor today to show the governor first-hand how NASA technology can benefit Californians,” said S. Pete Worden, director of NASA Ames Research Center.
Last week a remotely piloted aircraft carrying a NASA sensor flew over much of California, gathering information to help firefighters battle more than 300 wildfires burning throughout the state.
The flights by NASA’s unmanned Ikhana aircraft used a sophisticated Autonomous Modular Scanner developed at Ames and satellite imagery provided by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt Md. The flights originated from NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. Ikhana’s onboard sensor can detect temperature differences from less than one-half degree to approximately 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit. The scanner operates like a digital camera with specialized filters to detect light energy at visible, infrared and thermal wavelengths.
NASA and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service have partnered to obtain imagery of the wildfires in response to requests from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services and the National Interagency Fire Center.
