NASA’s PACE satellite designed to study air quality, ocean health and the effects of climate change on the ocean and atmosphere launched Thursday aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket from a launch complex at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
PACE — which stands for Plankton, Aerosol, Climate, ocean Ecosystem satellite — will study microscopic particles in the atmosphere and microscopic life in water using a hyperspectral ocean color instrument and two polarimeter instruments: Spectro-polarimeter for Planetary Exploration and Hyper-Angular Rainbow Polarimeter #2, the space agency said Thursday.
“Observations and scientific research from PACE will profoundly advance our knowledge of the ocean’s role in the climate cycle,” said Karen St. Germain, director of Earth Science Division within the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington.
“As an open-source science mission with early adopters ready to use its research and data, PACE will accelerate our understanding of the Earth system and help NASA deliver actionable science, data, and practical applications to help our coastal communities and industries address rapidly evolving challenges,” added St. Germain.
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland oversees the PACE satellite mission and is responsible for developing and testing the spacecraft and the ocean color instrument.
