MASTER Instrument Images Monroe Fire

The MASTER instrument (the MODIS/ASTER Airborne Simulator), which is supported/calibrated by the Airborne Sensor Facility (a group made up entirely of BAERI employees), is uniquely calibrated to capture imagery and temperature information of wildfires. As part of the GEMx project, MASTER was mounted on an ER-2, on one of NASA’s high-altitude aircraft, and happened to be flying over Utah and Arizona at the time of the Monroe Canyon fire. On July 30, 2025, MASTER was able to identify relative intensity of burning within the smoke plumes of the fire.

This technology is in its early days, so the instrument didn’t actively assist in fighting this fire; however, Kevin Reath, NASA deputy program manager for GEMx, commented that “this will likely be the best imagery of naturally caused wildfires we have to date and represents a success for [GEMx and FireSense].”