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NASA Drone's Sensors Battle California Wildfires
An anonymous reader writes "California is burning, but according to this article advanced sensors on NASA's Ikhana unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) can detect exact temperatures (within half a degree) through the smoke, enabling the drone to spot for the firefighters battling the more than 300 wildfires. NASA's Ikhana is the same aircraft as the Predator, except it's being used here to save lives."
Has anyone considered the possibility that perhaps these NASA drones are the ones starting the fires? Is it a coincidence that once this technology arrived that the number of forest fires skyrocketed? In a couple of weeks NASA will roll out a better technology and the rate of forest fire creation will plummet. NASA will be hailed as a hero and they will get the budget increases they always wanted--to build their doomsday machines!
I actually sat looking at your post for a full minute before I realised you weren't talking about the particular kind of Predator whose primary purpose is to hunt aliens and humans for sport. I was trying to figure out how that could be construed as saving lives.
"Nine times out of ten, starting a fire is not the best way to solve the problem." - my wife
The Predator's primary function is to save lives.
They should upgrade the thing to carry more weapons, so that it can save even more lives.
(War logic is always twisted)
"It's too bad that stupidity isn't painful." - Anton LaVey
That half a degree accuracy really helps when you're trying to decide whether it's a conflagration or just a fire.
Doesn't it make you feel good to know that our freedoms are protected by politicans, lawyers and journalists.