Sensor-Fusion Flight Test: A Case Study with Exploration Potential

This NASA Flight Opportunities Community of Practice Webinar will explore the unique aspects of testing a suite of Earth observation sensors as well as how these technologies might be leveraged for planetary exploration. On April 23, 2025, a payload comprising three technologies designed to autonomously detect wildland fires from the stratosphere flew aboard an Aerostar International high-altitude balloon for eight hours over several contained and controlled burns.

Designed to fuse the observations of multiple sensors simultaneously, the payload combined:

• A sensor developed by Harvard University that measures the quantity of smoke by particle size
• The Xiomas-developed multi-band thermal imager called TBIRD (Three Band Infrared Detector) that quantifies burning intensity and estimates the fire’s smoke-producing emissions
• The ASI (Atmospheric Structure Investigation) from NASA’s Ames Research Center, which includes the NephEx sensor to measure the smoke’s optical density in addition to a pressure probe, accelerometer, and other components designed to be used on a descent probe for future planetary studies

In this webinar moderated by Flight Opportunities personnel, researchers will discuss how they fused the data from the three balloon-based sensing technologies along with data from a drone-based sensor to obtain a comprehensive understanding of fires on the ground. The session will cover the opportunities and lessons learned in collaborating across sectors — from academia to industry and small business to the government — as well as what’s next for the technologies.

Speakers

John Dykema, Ph.D., Project Scientist, Harvard University

Amanda Cook, Ph.D., Instrument Scientist and Project Engineer, NASA’s Ames Research Center

Joshua Frock, Program Manager, Aerostar

Anh Nguyen, Ph.D., Program Portfolio Integrator, NASA’s Flight Opportunities program