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NASA Drone's Sensors Battle California Wildfires

Posted by samzenpus on from the not-just-blowing-smoke dept.

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."

2 of 58 comments (clear)

  1. Same as Predator by Mononoke · · Score: 5, Insightful

    NASA's Ikhana is the same aircraft as the Predator, except it's being used here to save lives."

    The Predator's primary function is to save lives.

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    1. Re:Same as Predator by pete-classic · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I thought its primary function was to gather intelligence, which hopefully has the effect of saving American, allied, and non-combatant's lives. But it does that by letting us kill enemy combatants better, which seems different on its face from what this article talks about.

      -Peter