As the result of the latest joint co-funding call launched by ESA InCubed and the Spanish Space Agency, eight new Earth observation projects have kicked off in 2026. These initiatives will enable risk anticipation, enhance early detection and optimise action in critical situations, contributing to saving lives, protecting infrastructure and preserving natural heritage.
Wildfires are moving from being seasonal threats to some of the most destructive and unpredictable natural phenomena. Driven by heatwaves, prolonged droughts and shifting weather patterns, wildfires are growing in both frequency and intensity.
In light of the devastating wildfires that have recently ravaged Spain’s territory, communities and ecosystems, the urgency to increase prevention, detection and response capabilities has never been more critical. As a direct response, ESA InCubed and the Spanish Space Agency (AEE) launched a call in 2025 to fund and accelerate Earth observation applications that span the entire wildfire management cycle.
Eight new initiatives signed a contract with ESA InCubed and kicked off in July 2026, being awarded a total of € 3 million:
- FIREAI-OPS — Intelligent Wildfire Operations through AI and Earth Observation
Emergency agencies lack real-time data assimilation and interoperability across Earth observation, airborne and terrestrial sources, limiting their ability to anticipate fire evolution and coordinate appropriate responses.
Implemented by GEOAI Analytics, Multiverse Computing and CATEC, FIREAI-OPS is an initiative that addresses the lack of integrated, rapidly updated information available to emergency teams managing fast-moving wildfires.
The activity aims to combine multi-source Earth observation data, artificial intelligence (AI) and physics-based fire modelling within a common operational environment, helping authorities anticipate fire evolution, coordinate observations and strengthen situational awareness during emergency operations.
- FIREWISE — Foundation Models for Reliable Wildfire Intelligence on Board Satellites
Wildfire alerts can be delayed by satellite downlinks and ground-processing loops, while narrow AI models (artificial intelligence systems designed to perform one specific task) may not remain reliable as sensors and environmental conditions change.
FIREWISE is an activity that addresses delays created when satellite imagery is first transmitted and processed on the ground, as well as the challenge of maintaining reliable AI performance under changing observation conditions.
Led by the ARQUIMEA Research Centre, FIREWISE aims to develop a software framework for adapting and operating Earth observation foundation models onboard satellites, enabling faster wildfire alerts with uncertainty information to support confidence in their use.
- EO4PYRO — Earth Observation for Predictive Wildfire Risk and Resilience Operations
Authorities and infrastructure operators rely on fragmented, static and poorly interoperable information that constrains prevention, predictive risk assessment and post-fire impact evaluation.
Headed by Centro de Observación y Teledetección Espacial, S.A.U. (COTESA), in a consortium with Hisdesat, Universidad de Alicante and IMIB-CSIC of Universidad de Oviedo, EO4PYRO focuses on the fragmented and often outdated information used for wildfire prevention, operational planning and post-fire assessment.
EO4PYRO aims to integrate multi-source Earth observation data, AI, enhanced-resolution products and digital-twin capabilities in a cloud platform that supports risk assessment, vegetation monitoring, fire-behaviour analysis and evaluation of environmental impacts after an event.
- FirEOcast — FIRE weather instability and fuel estimation by Earth Observation for improved fire danger foreCASTing
Conventional fire-danger indices depend largely on meteorological variables and insufficiently represent atmospheric instability, fuel properties and fuel-moisture conditions.
FirEOcast is a fire-danger service that aims to combine satellite-derived fuel information with meteorological modelling to deliver more dynamic and spatially detailed wildfire-danger information for prevention, preparedness and operational planning.
This initiative is led by isardSAT, with Universidad de Alcalá and MeteoGRID.
- Deeper Vision Self-Trained AI (DVSTAI) — Thermal Infrared extension
Ready-to-use platforms for locally configurable wildfire-risk prediction and monitoring of high-impact areas are limited, while multi-source processing can be computationally demanding and complex.
Thales Alenia Space España S.A. is leading an extension of the DVSTAI cloud service that includes multispectral and thermal-infrared support, semantic-segmentation models, scheduled monitoring, risk alerts and potential-impact mapping.
This extension addresses the limited availability of configurable operational tools that can transform recent satellite observations into detailed wildfire-risk and potential-impact information at local and regional scales.
- PiroSAR — Fire-Front Detection and Evolution Monitoring (F2DEM) Service
During major wildfires, smoke, cloud, darkness and operational restrictions can prevent optical, thermal and airborne systems from providing timely and reliable information on the active front and its evolution.
Telespazio Ibérica S.L.U. is developing PiroSAR, a project that aims to use imagery from multiple Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellite constellations to provide all-weather, day-and-night information on active fire fronts, perimeter changes and fire evolution, supporting more informed tactical decisions by emergency management authorities.
- Horizon Wildfire Insights (HWI)
Wildfire information from satellites, aerial systems and field reports is fragmented, preventing a unified operational picture and slowing anticipation, response and recovery decisions.
Led by Airbus Secure Communications, S.A.U., Airbus GeoTech, Vexiza and B2Space, Horizon Wildfire Insights (HWI) addresses the fragmentation of satellite observations, aerial information, field reports and operational communications, which can leave emergency teams without a shared and timely picture of an evolving wildfire.
HWI integrates Earth observation data, critical communications and intelligent analytical capabilities within a unified environment, supporting risk anticipation, active-fire monitoring, coordinated decision-making and assessment of affected areas across the wildfire-management lifecycle.
- FireTwin — Operational Wildfire-Risk Forecasting
Decision makers receive fragmented, static and outdated information that does not adequately capture changing vegetation condition, fuel moisture or evolving wildfire risk.
FireTwin is an initiative being developed by Agresta Sociedad Cooperativa that aims to combine multi-sensor Earth observation and meteorological data through AI-enhanced models, producing regularly updated wildfire-risk information and developing short-term forecasting capabilities to help users identify critical areas, plan preventive action and allocate resources more effectively.
Carlos Urbina Ortega, End-to-end System Engineer at ESA Φ-lab Invest Office and InCubed Officer for the management of this national campaign in Spain, commented: “Wildfires are becoming faster and more dangerous, threatening lives, homes and ecosystems. Through this InCubed call with the Spanish Space Agency, we are turning satellite data into real-world tools for every stage of a fire. These eight new applications will give emergency teams the exact information they need to react quicker, manage crises better and ultimately save lives and protect nature.”
Learn more: ESA InCubed, Spanish Space Agency (AEE)
Header: this image from Copernicus Sentinel-3, captured on 17 August 2025, is a wide view of France, Spain and Portugal and is dominated by smoke billowing from fires in the northern part of the Iberian Peninsula. Contains Copernicus Sentinel data (2025), processed by ESA.