PACE

Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem

active Mission
Artist's concept of PACE spacecraft

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

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.

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