Uploaded March 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
NASA’s Advanced Capabilities for Emergency Response Operations (ACERO) project is testing its portable airspace management system this March in the foothills of the Sierra de Salinas mountains in Monterey County, California.
ACERO’s Portable Airspace Management System (PAMS) is designed to provide remote pilots with the airspace management functions required to safely send drones and remotely piloted helicopters into wildland fire operations no matter how poor the visual conditions.
Using the PAMS prototype, researchers were able to safely conduct flight operations of a vertical takeoff and landing aircraft operated by Overwatch Aero, LLC, of Solvang, California, and two small NASA drones.
Fire chiefs from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) attended the testing and provided feedback on the system’s functionality and features.
NASA's goal for ACERO is to validate this technology, so it will be available to be developed for wildland fire crews to use in the field, saving lives and property.
Learn more: nasa.gov/directorates/armd/aosp/acero/acero-project-wildfires-description
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Credit: NASA/Jesse Carpenter
NASA’s Advanced Capabilities for Emergency Response Operations (ACERO) project is testing its portable airspace management system this March in the foothills of the Sierra de Salinas mountains in Monterey County, California.
ACERO’s Portable Airspace Management System (PAMS) is designed to provide remote pilots with the airspace management functions required to safely send drones and remotely piloted helicopters into wildland fire operations no matter how poor the visual conditions.
Using the PAMS prototype, researchers were able to safely conduct flight operations of a vertical takeoff and landing aircraft operated by Overwatch Aero, LLC, of Solvang, California, and two small NASA drones.
Fire chiefs from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) attended the testing and provided feedback on the system’s functionality and features.
NASA's goal for ACERO is to validate this technology, so it will be available to be developed for wildland fire crews to use in the field, saving lives and property.
Learn more: nasa.gov/directorates/armd/aosp/acero/acero-project-wildfires-description
Follow us on X: https://x.com/NASAAmes
Follow us on Instagram: instagram.com/nasaames
Follow us on Facebook: facebook.com/nasaames
Follow us on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/nasa-ames-research-center
Credit: NASA/Jesse Carpenter
