Why It Matters

NASA's Aqua and Terra satellites, which have provided critical wildfire observation data for years, are expected to cease operations by late 2026 or early 2027. According to a new Congressional Research Service (CRS) report on U.S. Satellite Capabilities for Tracking the Wildfire Life Cycle report on U.S. Satellite Capabilities for Tracking the Wildfire Life Cycle,>), this action is forcing a transition to newer systems at a moment when Congress is pushing for expanded and faster detection capabilities.

The Big Picture

Multiple federal agencies currently operate overlapping satellite networks for wildfire observation: the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) operates geostationary and low-Earth orbit satellites, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) manages the Landsat program, and NASA develops research satellites for the same purpose.

NOAA's GOES-R Series satellites scan the Earth every 60 seconds at 500 to 2,000 meter resolution and detect smoke plumes and heat signatures in near real-time with data available within approximately one to three hours. NOAA's Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS), a fleet of three low-Earth orbit satellites, provides global observations twice a day. JPSS satellites host the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) at 375-meter resolution with data latency of about 50 seconds, and VIIRS can detect small, low-temperature fires.

The Trump administration discontinued procurement of a GeoXO lightning mapper for budgetary reasons, despite lightning being a common wildfire ignition source. The administration also restructured the Landsat Next mission, initially proposed as a three-satellite constellation, into Landsat 10, a single satellite, which would result in lower temporal resolution.

Congress has introduced multiple bills addressing these gaps: H.R. 527, H.R. 753, H.R. 5782, and S. 91 all seek to improve satellite observations to increase U.S. resilience to harmful effects of wildfires, while S. 306 and S. 3923 would direct NOAA to fill fire weather data gaps through commercial data purchases.

In July, NOAA entered into a $2.51 million contract with a California-based company to buy data for a Wildfire Imagery Pilot via the agency's Commercial Data Program.

The Bottom Line

Future satellite missions offer potential improvements for wildfire detection and response. NOAA's GeoXO satellite, planned for launch in 2034, will include a new imager that may detect wildfires a quarter of the size of those the Advanced Baseline Imager can detect, while NASA and USGS are developing a follow-on super-spectral Landsat mission to launch in 2031. Congress faces decisions about whether to fund replacement capabilities to maintain continuity of wildfire observation data as aging satellites reach the end of their operational lives.

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