As climate change sparks a surge in the frequency and intensity of wildfires, satellite data disseminated through ESA’s Third Party Missions (TPM) programme are helping scientists to track and investigate these potentially damaging natural events.

This summer has seen searing heatwaves and fierce blazes grip parts of southern Europe, continuing a pattern of worsening extreme weather phenomena.

In July and August, flames spread across areas of Greece, Italy, Spain and Portugal, triggering evacuations as well as causing extensive economic and environmental damage. Beyond Europe, countries such as Canada, Tunisia, and Algeria have also felt the impacts of intense fires.

Space-borne sensors are vital for fire monitoring, providing global and detailed data – such as measurements of temperature changes, burned areas and smoke emissions – that enable scientists to track these events as they evolve and determine their impact on the environment.

As well as supporting crisis management in near real-time, this information is enabling scientific investigations into the drivers and consequences of wildfires to support future mitigation efforts.

ESA is a key enabler of these activities – and through its TPM programme the agency disseminates data from a number of international and commercial fire-observing missions on a free basis for research and application development purposes.

Optical data key for crisis management

Optical TPM missions, such as the Pléiades Neo constellation, are particularly important for monitoring wildfires, supporting emergency responses and impact assessments.

Pléiades Neo is a very high-resolution optical system of two identical satellites phased at 180° from each other, providing continuity for the Pléiades mission, with enhanced accuracy, reactivity and frequency.

Other optical missions to facilitate the tracking of wildfires include Vision-1, the WorldView series, GEOSAT, and SPOT-6.

Beyond these privately owned missions, ESA’s TPM programme disseminates data from several institutional remote sensing activities.

For more than 40 years, the joint NASA and United States Geological Survey (USGS) Landsat programme has been delivering information – such as extent of burned areas and data on subsequent regrowth – to help land managers and scientists determine the extent and consequences of wildfires.

Through the TPM programme, ESA is boosting access to these data by disseminating all products from the Thematic Mapper and Enhanced Thematic Mapper instruments, as well as the Operational Land Imager and Thermal Infrared Sensor carried on Landsat 8.

Radar missions help assess burned areas

Space-borne radar sensors can also support impact assessments by delivering information on burned areas after fires take place.

The Finnish ICEYE constellation, added to the TPM programme in 2021, currently consists of 27 synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites, with four further satellites set to launch this year.

This growing new space constellation makes use of specialised orbital planes to provide a complete and high-resolution view of Earth’s surface, capturing information on extreme weather events that are particularly valuable for insurance markets and disaster response teams.

ICEYE provides data in spot, strip and scan modes – all of which are available via the TPM programme.

The TPM programme also includes the Italian COSMO-SkyMed series, which is owned and operated by the Italian Space Agency (ASI). Consisting of first- and second-generation constellations, the series delivers SAR data for many applications, including tracking the impacts of droughts and forest fires.

Other radar missions include the twin TerraSAR-X and TanDEM-X satellites, from the German Aerospace Center (DLR). The Spanish PAZ satellite, added to the TPM in 2018, occupies the same orbit as TerraSAR-X and TanDEM-X, and the three satellites work together as a constellation.