The same materials know-now that helps spacecraft safely re-enter the Earth's atmosphere is being put to use for some very terrestrial work: protecting firefighters.
NASA is quick at work developing the next generation of heat shields for spacecraft, but while it designs the new materials, it's also working on ways to incorporate them into the protective gear used by firefighters. Mary Beth Wusk, a NASA Langley researcher, got the idea from the Yarnell Hill fire in Arizona in 2013, which killed 19 firefighters.
Many firefighters trapped by the blaze sought refuge in emergency shelters. But for many of them, those shelters weren't strong enough to survive the searing forest fires. At NASA, Wusk and coworker Anthony Calomino were already hard at work on materials that can withstand heat up to 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit. NASA and the Forest Service are currently teaming up with Convective Heating for Improvement for Emergency Fire Shelters (CHIEFS), which is now testing materials side-by-side with NASA to figure out which might make the best new fire shelter.
CHIEFS will test 12 of the best candidates in full-scale fire shelters starting in June. The end result might just be able to prevent another tragic firefighter death.