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PACE

Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem

Active Mission

PACE will help us better understand our ocean and atmosphere by measuring key variables associated with cloud formation, particles and pollutants in the air, and microscopic, floating marine life (phytoplankton). These observations will help us better monitor ocean health, air quality, and climate change.

Type

Orbiter

Launch

2024

Target

Earth

Objective

Study the health of Earth's climate and ocean

PACE Stories

Explore All PACE Stories

NASA Kennedy Top 24 Stories of 2024

NASA’s PACE, US-European SWOT Satellites Offer Combined Look at Ocean

Carissa Arillo: Testing Spacecraft, Penning the Owner’s Manuals

High-Altitude ER-2 Flights Get Down-to-Earth Data

Systems Engineer Noosha Haghani Prepped PACE for Space

PACE and Climate Change

Launched February 2024, NASA’s newest Earth-observing satellite, called PACE (Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem), will help us better understand how climate change is affecting blooms of ocean phytoplankton. PACE will also help decipher how particles in the air (like dust and smoke) can influence cloud formation and the warming and cooling of the planet.

An aerial view of a portion of the planet shows white, wispy cloud coverage over both land and ocean. Clouds are seen in the bottom left corner extending up towards the top left corner but dwindling as it rises. Clouds are also seen in the top right corner. A green colored land mass is seen along the bottom third of the image. There are some islands off the coast of the land as well. In the dark blue ocean, are vibrant swirls of teal and green phytoplankton blooms.

During the spring and summer in the Barents Sea, north of Norway and Russia, blue and green blooms of phytoplankton are often visible. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this true-color image on July 15, 2021.

NASA Earth Observatory

Pre-Launch Mission Videos

Ocean Color Countdown with PACE

We explore just five different ocean colors around the globe and find out what those colors tell us.

Aerosols on Earth

A Sea of Data: The PACE Mission

How PACE will take Earth's pulse in new ways for decades to come.

Clouds over the southern Indian Ocean. This image was acquired by one of the northward-viewing cameras of the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) instrument on NASA's polar-orbiting Terra spacecraft. Credit: NASA

PACE's Instruments Reveal a New Dimension of Atmospheric Info

PACE enables NASA to learn more about the characteristics of aerosol and cloud interactions in Earth's systems.

Eastern Equatorial Pacific phytoplankton

The Insanely Important World of Phytoplankton

Ivona Cetinić, the Science Lead for Ocean Biogeochemistry for PACE describes the weird, wonderful, and important world of phytoplankton.

9 people smiling on a Zoom call.

PACE: Persistence and Perseverance Despite Pandemic

How the PACE development teams overcame social distancing challenges to realize this extremely important research initiative.

slide 2 - The Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich satellite sits in front of a testing chamber

PACE Mission Enlists the U.S. Marine Band

The PACE mission nears the end of its environmental testing with acoustic fanfare.

Image of the Woolsey Fire burning along the Southern California coastline

Tracking Carbon from Wildfires to Ocean Blooms

PACE will examine connections between these major wildfires and the subsequent explosion of phytoplankton production.

A new NASA study found that variations in cloud cover sharply delineated the boundaries of ecological biomes relevant to many unique species.

SPEXone: Dutch Instrument Arrives for PACE Mission

Scientists seek detailed data from PACE to properly characterize the amount of radiative forcing that aerosols cause.

Other Mission Resources

Frank Cutler, NASA Armstrong's Global Hawk project manager, talks to media about the Global Hawk and its current mission. Credit: NASA Photo/Ken Ulbrich.

PACE Mission Blog - Mission Updates and Staff Profiles

The detailed updates on all things PACE.

Which Phytoplankton are You?

Answer four questions to discover which of these diverse organisms is most like you!

Phytoplankton Exploration

PACE will show all chlorophyll is not created equal.

a pulled back view of a Kennedy Space Center launch pad with rocket lifting off against a clear blue sky with smoke plume spreading beyond the pad.

PACE Storymap Gallery

The stories that drive PACE.

Alvin Smith in bunny suit

PACE Image Gallery

A look behind the scenes.

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