Less than three months into 2025, more than 9,000 wildfires have burned 269,986 acres across the United States. From coastal communities like California's Pacific Palisades to historic towns in central Oklahoma,

People and planes often flag wildfires before satellites do, but satellites can play a critical role when it comes to monitoring more rural areas. And wildfires have become more widespread as climate change creates more hot and arid conditions in parts of the world including California, where Google is headquartered.

The constellation will keep a close eye on wildfires, eventually imaging nearly all of the Earth’s surface once every 20 minutes.