NASA’s PACE (Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem) spacecraft in orbit over Earth. The PACE observatory will help us better understand how the ocean and atmosphere exchange carbon dioxide, measure key atmospheric variables associated with air quality and Earth’s climate, and monitor ocean health, in part by studying phytoplankton, tiny plants, and algae that sustain the marine food web. Credit: NASA GSFC
NASA’s PACE spacecraft arrived in Florida for its 2024 launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Managed by the Goddard Space Flight Center, the mission will study ocean-atmosphere interactions and continue crucial climate and air quality measurements.
NASA’s PACE spacecraft completed its journey on November 14, from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, to the Astrotech Spacecraft Operations facility near the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Engineers and technicians arrived ahead of the spacecraft to prepare ground equipment for offloading and processing before fueling and final encapsulation.
Technicians monitor movement as a crane hoists NASA’s Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) observatory spacecraft after being uncrated on November 15, 2023, at the Astrotech Space Operations Facility near the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. PACE will be encapsulated for launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky
PACE, which stands for Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, and ocean Ecosystem, is targeted to launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in early 2024, from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The mission will help clarify how the ocean and atmosphere exchange carbon dioxide, improve upon NASA’s 20-plus years of global satellite observations of ocean biology and atmospheric aerosols, and continue key measurements related to air quality and climate.
The PACE project is managed by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. The agency’s Launch Services Program, based at Kennedy Space Center, is responsible for managing launch service for the PACE mission.
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