From Crossbow’s blog:
Motes have been launched into a new dimension. Researchers at NASA Ames Research Center have taken the capabilities of the MICAz Mote platform and sent them to a new level…literally. Wireless sensor networks and Motes are used to monitor environments or objects to detect changes and provide information or alerts about the current configuration in real-time. This time Crossbow’s MICAz Mote platform was used in a rocket engine monitoring system.

Unlike most mechanical systems, rocket engines rarely fail gradually. It’s not like having your brakes wear out in your car where you can feel the brake pads getting warped. In a rocket engine, if something fails, it happens quickly making it difficult to determine the root cause or to do anything to avoid the failure. When a rocket engine does malfunction, sensor data provides important clues about the cause. The vehicle health monitoring system relays pressure, temperature, voltage, strain and acceleration data back to the Mission/Launch Control Center. Integrated Vehicle Health Monitoring (IVHM) goes a step further by providing onboard processing capability often detecting engine anomalies earlier and responding faster than a ground-linked system.

More info here.

Advances in wireless networking, micro-fabrication and integration (for example, sensors and actuators manufactured using micro-electro mechanical system technology, or MEMS), and embedded microprocessors have enabled a new generation of massive-scale sensor networks suitable for a range of commercial and military applications. The technology promises to revolutionize the way we live, work, and interact with the physical environment.

More info can be found here