PACE MISSION

TAG: GS 3: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

THE CONTEXT: PACE is a NASA mission scheduled to launch no earlier than Feb. 6, 2024, on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

EXPLANATION:

WHAT IS PACE?

• PACE is NASA’s Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem mission, currently in the design phase of mission development.
• It is scheduled to launch in 2024, extending and improving NASA’s over 20-year record of satellite observations of global ocean biology, aerosols (tiny particles suspended in the atmosphere), and clouds.
• PACE will advance the assessment of ocean health by measuring the distribution of phytoplankton, tiny plants and algae that sustain the marine food web.
• It will also continue systematic records of key atmospheric variables associated with air quality and Earth’s climate.

PACE has two fundamental science goals:

• To extend key systematic ocean colour, aerosol, and cloud data records for Earth system and climate studies.
• To address new and emerging science questions using its advanced instruments, surpassing the capabilities of previous and current missions.

Observatory

• Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) is responsible for the principal mission elements, including the design and fabrication of the spacecraft, development of scientific instrumentation.
• The Development Team at Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) will guide PACE through each phase as the instruments, spacecraft, and observatory are built, tested, and flown.

INSTRUMENTS:

• The primary science instruments planned for PACE are:
  • Ocean Colour Instrument (OCI):
    • Spectrometer used to measure intensity of light over portions of the electromagnetic spectrum: ultraviolet (UV), visible, near infrared, and several shortwave infrared bands.
    • The OCI will enable continuous measurement of light at finer wavelength resolution than previous NASA ocean colour sensors, providing detailed information on our global ocean.
    • The colour of the ocean is determined by the interaction of sunlight with substances or particles present in seawater such as chlorophyll, a green photosynthetic pigment found in phytoplankton and land plants.
  • Multi-angle Polarimeters:
    • Radiometers used to measure how the oscillation of sunlight within a geometric plane – known as its polarization – is changed by passing through clouds, aerosols, and the ocean.
    • Measuring polarization states of UV-to-shortwave light at various angles provides detailed information on the atmosphere and ocean, such as particle size and composition.
  • Combined, these instruments will be a major advance in satellite observing technology, allowing for new opportunities to monitor and respond to changes in our ecosystem, and the ways in which the atmosphere and ocean interact.

SOURCE: https://www.nasa.gov/general/experience-the-launch-of-nasas-pace-mission/#:~:text=PACE%20is%20a%20NASA%20mission,biology%2C%20aerosols%2C%20and%20clouds.