Rapid Prototyping of NASA Next Generation Sensors for the SERVIR System of Fire Detection in Mesoamerica

The SERVIR Fire Rapid Response System web site displays and distributes daily images of near-real-time MODIS data processed by the MODIS Rapid Response System. The MODIS Rapid Response System was developed by Science Systems and Applications Inc. scientists at the Goddard Space Flight Center and implanted as the SERVIR extension for the use of personnel involved in environmental monitoring and disaster management in Mesoamerica. This Rapid Prototyping Capability Experiment is designed to examine the continued performance of SERVIR’s fire detection system associated with the anticipated transition from MODIS to VIIRS sensor data. There is an inherent limitation in attempting this analysis prior to the commissioning of the actual VIIRS-based sensors. Our efforts in simulating the VIIRS data require us to make substitutions of sensor type and sensor resolution that cause the comparisons to be subject to this limitation. Our comparisons can, however, identify issues to be addressed in the preparation for the new sensors.