Australian satellite will identify potential fires in the country

The small spacecraft will use infrared detectors that are tuned to

vegetation common in the country, in particular,  eucalyptus trees and shrubs.If it notices changes in the reflectance ("spectral signature") of individual sites, this data will automatically be transmitted to the researchers.

Satellite data will be used forassessments of the “risk of fire” and moisture content in forests. Authorities can then take the necessary measures to mitigate these risks. Scientists noted that they want to avoid repeating the fire season of 2019-2020.

The team believes that their satellite will be able to provide more accurate and up-to-date information about the level of threat than similar technologies.The satellites will be based on new sensors originally developed for astronomy.

The university team said it would take several years to create, test and launch a space satellite. It will be the size of a small suitcase.

“We are trying to detect small changes inspectral features of trees. It seemed to us that this is the most accurate way to measure potential fires, ”explained Marta Yebra, a space flight specialist at ANU.