FireSat: Google AI and 52 Satellites Aim to Detect Wildfires in Their Early Stages

At the beginning of next year, Google and its collaborators plan to launch the first of a series of satellites designed to provide regularly updated, high-resolution images of wildfires across the globe. These advanced satellites aim to supply crucial data that could assist firefighters in combating blazes more swiftly, effectively, and safely.

The initiative comes from a collaboration between the tech giant’s nonprofit and research divisions, alongside partners such as the Moore Foundation, the Environmental Defense Fund, and the satellite company Muon Space. Together, they are working on deploying 52 satellites over the next few years, each equipped with specially designed sensors.

Timely Satellite Imagery Every 20 Minutes

The satellites, referred to as FireSat, will possess the capability to detect fires as small as five square meters anywhere on Earth. Once the entire constellation is operational, these satellites are expected to provide updated imagery approximately every 20 minutes, according to the collaborating organizations.

This technological advancement represents a significant improvement over the current satellite systems that supply data to firefighting teams. Presently, existing satellites either offer high-resolution images that lack timely updates for accurate fire tracking or provide frequently updated images with relatively lower resolution.

In collaboration with the Earth Fire Alliance, Google will also integrate its artificial intelligence tools tailored for wildfire detection, trained to identify early indicators of fires and track their progression to extract additional insights from the data.

Eliminating Confusion in Fire Detection

Chris Van Arsdale, head of climate and energy research at Google Research and chair of the Earth Fire Alliance, emphasized the challenges in accurately identifying fires from satellite images. “Many elements on satellite imagery can be misinterpreted as fires, such as reflections, hot rooftops, or smoke from adjacent fires,” he explains. “Detecting fires is akin to searching for needles in a haystack. Solving this challenge will enable first responders to act quickly and accurately when a fire is spotted.”

The organizations involved revealed that Google.org, the company’s philanthropic arm, has allocated $13 million for this program, with the first satellite launch anticipated next year.

Training AI Through Controlled Burns

Google Research has developed the sensors for these satellites and tested them along with the company’s AI models through flights over controlled burns in California. The aim is to collaborate with the Earth Fire Alliance to ensure that the AI optimally utilizes this data, making wildfire information as accessible as possible.

Van Arsdale remarked that providing images of every wildfire incident from start to finish will be incredibly valuable for scientists studying wildfires and climate change. “We can combine this data with Google’s existing Earth models to enhance our understanding of fire behavior and dynamics across all ecosystems,” he stated. “Together, this has the potential to mitigate the ecological and social impacts of wildfires while improving public health and safety.”

Strategic Fire Management

Given the high costs and limited resources available for forest management, another primary objective of the program is to determine the most effective strategies for such efforts. Genny Biggs, program director of the Wildfire Resilience Initiative at the Moore Foundation, emphasizes this point.

The first satellite, set to launch aboard a SpaceX rocket early next year, will be fully functional aside from some data transmission capabilities. The initial mission’s goals include testing onboard systems and the data they transmit. The Earth Fire Alliance plans to collaborate with several agencies to initiate the next phases of the project.

By 2026, the group aims to launch three fully operational satellites, with more to follow in subsequent years. Muon Space is responsible for building and operating these satellites.

As soon as roughly half of the satellite constellation is active, authorities worldwide can expect to receive real-time information about wildfires on an hourly basis. The Earth Fire Alliance hopes to have all 52 satellites in orbit by the end of this decade.

Each satellite is designed for a lifespan of about five years, meaning the organization will need to deploy an additional ten satellites annually to maintain the constellation. Currently, the Earth Fire Alliance has secured approximately two-thirds of the necessary funding for the first phase of the program, which includes the initial four launches.

The total cost for the entire project is estimated to exceed $400 million, a worthwhile investment considering it represents only a fraction of the economic losses caused by extreme wildfires in the United States each year.

This article was authored by James Temple, Senior Editor at the U.S. edition of MIT Technology Review, focusing on energy and climate change.