A constellation of satellites designed to detect wildfires within minutes is set to begin deployment this week from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The first three spacecraft of the FireSat network, built by Muon Space and funded with $69 million from the Bezos Earth Fund, Google and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, will deliver high-resolution thermal imagery every 20 minutes, capable of identifying fires as small as 16 feet (5 metres) across. The non-profit Earth Fire Alliance, which leads the project, says the system can distinguish between smouldering and flaming combustion, giving fire agencies in California, Oregon, Texas, Australia and Portugal a new tool to track fire growth and smoke emissions. Data from the initial satellites will be shared with Cal Fire and Southern California fire departments within months, with the full 50-satellite constellation intended to provide global coverage.

A separate NASA experiment, still in the planning stage, aims to set controlled fires on the Moon for the first time. The Flammability of Materials on the Moon (FM2) payload, a self-contained robotic combustion chamber carrying four samples of cotton, fibreglass and acrylic rods, would be delivered to the lunar surface on a commercial lander, possibly later this year. By igniting the materials in lunar gravity – one-sixth that of Earth – scientists hope to observe how flames spread and whether materials considered safe on Earth could become hazardous in partial gravity. The agency says the findings will inform material safety standards for future crewed Artemis missions, where a fire inside a habitat or spacecraft would be catastrophic.

Viewed from Washington, the lunar programme is increasingly framed as a contest. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman told CBS that the United States and China are in a “space race” to return humans to the Moon and build permanent infrastructure. NASA intends to begin deploying surface equipment, including a lunar terrain vehicle, in 2027, with a crewed landing targeted for late 2028. By the early 2030s, Isaacman said, the base would host crews for extended stays, functioning as a testbed for Mars missions. China’s programme, which Beijing says is not a geopolitical competition, is moving at what Isaacman called “remarkable speed”, with a crewed landing expected around 2029. China has instead emphasised cooperation, partnering with Russia on the International Lunar Research Station.

The next concrete milestones are the delivery of FireSat data to fire agencies in the coming months and a potential launch of the FM2 experiment before year-end. The lunar base timelines remain subject to the technical and political rhythms of two major space powers, with the gap between their respective crewed landings now measured in months rather than years.