Let’s just say it, nothing screams “we’ve given up on handling things down here” quite like launching satellites to put out our earthly fires. But here we are, in 2025, where fighting wildfires involves more orbital math than a Mars mission and less water than a desert picnic.

Once upon a time, firefighting meant brave humans with hoses and grit. Fast forward past the smoky middle ages of tech and now, meet the firefighting elite: satellites with better cameras than your latest smartphone and AI so sharp it can distinguish a forest fire from a bad barbecue. Space has officially entered the emergency services chat.

Let’s start with Muon Space, whose recent launch of FireSat Protoflight was like sending a cosmic firefighter with a PhD in thermal imaging into orbit. It’s designed to globally detect and monitor wildfires, because apparently, looking down from 500 kilometers up is what it takes to spot smoldering shrubs these days.

Their approach is clear: see everything, everywhere, all at once (apologies to multiverse fans). By detecting heat anomalies and smoke signatures, FireSat aims to cut the lag between “Is that smoke?” and “Run!” to mere minutes. Satellites now sniff out trouble faster than your nosy neighbor.