Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem
An artist's concept of NASA's PACE spacecraft in orbit. | |||||||||
| Names | Pre-Aerosol, Cloud, and ocean Ecosystem | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mission type | Remote sensing | ||||||||
| Operator | NASA / GSFC | ||||||||
| COSPAR ID | 2024-025A | ||||||||
| SATCAT no. | 58928 | ||||||||
| Website | pace | ||||||||
| Mission duration | 3-10 years (planned) 1 year, 4 months, 12 days (in progress) | ||||||||
| Spacecraft properties | |||||||||
| Spacecraft | PACE | ||||||||
| Manufacturer | Goddard Space Flight Center | ||||||||
| Launch mass | 1,694 kg (3,735 lb) | ||||||||
| Dimensions | 1.5 m × 1.5 m × 3.2 m (4 ft 11 in × 4 ft 11 in × 10 ft 6 in) | ||||||||
| Power | 1000 watts | ||||||||
| Start of mission | |||||||||
| Launch date | 06:33, February 8, 2024 (UTC) | ||||||||
| Rocket | Falcon 9 Block 5 B1081-4 | ||||||||
| Launch site | Cape Canaveral, SLC‑40 | ||||||||
| Contractor | SpaceX | ||||||||
| Orbital parameters | |||||||||
| Reference system | Geocentric orbit | ||||||||
| Regime | Sun-synchronous orbit | ||||||||
| Altitude | 676.5 km (420.4 mi) | ||||||||
| Inclination | 98° | ||||||||
| Period | 2-day global coverage 60° instrument view angle | ||||||||
| Transponders | |||||||||
| Band | S-Band: Command & Telemetry Ka-Band: Science Data | ||||||||
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PACE mission logo Large Strategic Science Missions Earth Science Division | |||||||||
Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) is a 2020s NASA Earth-observing satellite mission to observe global ocean color, biogeochemistry, and ecology, as well as the carbon cycle, aerosols and clouds. PACE is intended to be used to identify the extent and duration of phytoplankton blooms and improve understanding of air quality. These and other uses of PACE data are expected to benefit the economy and society according to NASA, especially sectors that rely on water quality, fisheries and food security.
Despite being proposed for cancellation under President Trump's FY 2018 budget, the program was funded by Congress in 2018. The PACE project is managed by NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. The main instrument and bus were designed and built at Goddard Space Flight Center.
On 4 February 2020, NASA announced the selection of SpaceX to launch PACE on a Falcon 9, at a total cost to NASA of US$80.4 million, including the launch service and other mission-related costs. The total cost of the mission is $964 million, which includes spacecraft construction, launch, and operations. PACE successfully launched on 8 February 2024 at 06:33 UTC. On 17 April 2024 it was announced that first operational data was received.