Congress has appropriated an additional $1.5 million in fiscal 2002 to support the development of a global fire-monitoring system by Rochester Institute of Technology and NASA's Regional Applications Center Northeast.

They will build a prototype sensor system that could be deployed from space-borne, airborne and ground-based platforms. The Forest Fires Imaging Experimental System program will draw upon the institute's imaging science expertise.

Through data analysis and the modeling of wildfires, faculty and students will explore new sensors for preventing and observing the fires. The scientists also collaborate with researchers at Telespazio, an Italian company that specializes in satellite operations and communications. Congress has provided a total of $4.8 million to NASA for this research program.