With its thermal-infrared sensor pod under its left wing, NASA's Ikhana unmanned aircraft cruised over California during the Western States Fire Mission.
ED07-0186-13
The Ikhana imaging flights were a real-world wrap-up of the Western States Fire Mission, in which NASA flew a series of four long-endurance demonstration flights of the imaging technology in cooperation with the U.S. Forest Service in August and September. Those flights, some as along as 20 hours, were funded by NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) also helped fund the wildfire imaging flights.August 9, 2007
NASA Photo / Jim Ross
For more information on the Western States Fire Mission, click on the Fact Sheet here.