Compact Fire Infrared Radiance Spectral Tracker (c-FIRST)

Remote sensing and characterization of high temperature targets on the Earth's surface is required for many cross-disciplinary science investigations and applications including fire and volcano impacts on ecology, the carbon cycle, and atmospheric composition. For decades this research has been hindered by insufficient spatial resolution and/or detector saturation of satellite sensors operating at short and mid-infrared wavelengths (1-5 μm) where the spectral radiance from high temperature (>800 K) surfaces is most significant. To address this critical need, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and partnering institutions propose to develop and validate a compact modular high dynamic range (HDR) multispectral imager concept, with the flexibility to operate in the short, mid- or long-wavelength infrared spectral bands. The goal of this IIP project is to demonstrate this novel technology through the maturation of a mid-wavelength infrared (MWIR) imager, the Compact Fire Infrared Radiance Spectral Tracker (c-FIRST), which leverages digital focal plane array (DFPA) development from the Advanced Component Technology (ACT) Program. The DFPA is hybridized from a state-of-the-art high operating temperature barrier infrared detector (HOT-BIRD) and a digital readout integrated circuit (D-ROIC), which features an in-pixel digital counter to prevent current saturation, and thereby provides very high dynamic range (>100 dB). The DFPA will thus enable unsaturated, high-resolution imaging and quantitative retrievals of targets with a large variation in temperatures, ranging from 300 K (background) to >1600 K (hot flaming fires). With the resolution to resolve 50 m-scale thermal features on the Earth's surface from a nominal orbital altitude of 400 km, the full temperature and area distribution of fires and active volcanic eruptions and the cool background are captured in a single observation, increasing science content per returned byte. The use of a non-saturating detector is novel, overcomes previous problems where high radiance values saturate detectors (which diminishes the science content and usefulness of the data), and demonstrates a breakthrough capability in remote sensing – one with broad applicability in both terrestrial and planetary settings. By incorporating this technology, c-FIRST is suitable for quantifying emissions from fires and volcanic eruptions of different temperatures and intensities, which is critical for establishing their impact on ecosystems, carbon fluxes, and air-quality at local scales and climate at global scales. c-FIRST will incorporate artificial intelligence (AI) approaches to identify events of high scientific value (e.g., wildfires and volcanic eruptions) while limiting the need for significant onboard storage or high bandwidths for data downlink, which is a particular handicap for high-spatial resolution satellite sensors. When deployed in a future constellation (not proposed as part of this work), multiple instruments could communicate directly with one another to perform continuous tracking and focused quantitative characterization of the thermal emissions from fires and volcanoes. This modular, AI-enhanced instrument design will enable and accelerate the development of constellations of intelligent, interacting Cube- or SmallSats. The period of performance of the project is 3 years, with an entry TLR of 3 and a planned exit TRL of 5.

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