NASA’s PACE satellite successfully launched into orbit at 1:33 a.m. EST on February 8. The climate satellite launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
[Related: Scientists say the ocean is changing color—and it’s probably our fault.]
The new Plankton, Aerosol, Climate, ocean Ecosystem satellite will study ocean health, air quality, the atmosphere, and the effects of climate change from about 420 miles above the Earth. While NASA already has over 24 Earth-observing satellites and instruments in orbit, this new one should give scientists better insight into how particles in the atmosphere like pollutants and volcanic ash interact with algae and plankton.
“It’s going to teach us about the oceans in the same way that Webb is teaching us about the cosmos,” said Karen St. Germain, director of NASA’s Earth Science Division, Science Mission Directorate, during a pre-launch briefing on February 4th. St. Germain is referencing the James Webb Space Telescope, which has been unveiling mysteries of the deep cosmos for almost two years.
What’s on board
PACE will scan the Earth every day using two science instruments, while a third device will take monthly measurements.
According to NASA, the hyperspectral ocean color instrument will help researchers measure the world’s oceans and other bodies of water across a spectrum of ultraviolet (UV), visible, and near-infrared light. PACE will be able to detect 200 colors, compared to the seven or eight colors that current satellites can pick up. Seeing such a wide spectrum of color will allow researchers to track how phytoplankton is distributed around the globe.
Two polarimeter instruments are also onboard–Hyper-Angular Rainbow Polarimeter #2 and Spectro-polarimeter for Planetary Exploration. Both will detect how sunlight interacts with particles…
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