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Sciences and Exploration Directorate
Operational

Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE)

PACE is NASA's Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem mission. It launched on February 8, 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.

Launch Date
February 8, 2024
Class
Flight Project
Website
Key Staffs

PACE is NASA's Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem mission. It launched on February 8, 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.

Related Publications

2026. "Aerosol and ocean color retrievals from FastMAPOL/component algorithm using NASA’s PACE polarimetric measurements.", Optics Express, 34 (16): 29139 [10.1364/oe.607432] [Journal Article/Letter]

2026. "Instrument-Embedded Sampling Oscilloscope for In-Situ Waveform Characterization and Its Implementation in the Ocean Color Instrument of the NASA PACE Mission.", IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, 64 1001414-1001414 [10.1109/tgrs.2026.3695813] [Journal Article/Letter]

2026. "Where sky meets sea: Integrated aerosol and ocean color retrieval from PACE SPEXone multi-angle polarimetry.", Remote Sensing of Environment, 345 115603 [10.1016/j.rse.2026.115603] [Journal Article/Letter]

2026. "AVUELO – Imaging Spectroscopy Flight Campaign to Advance Tropical Ecology.", World Biodiversity Forum 2026, [10.5194/wbf2026-1028] [Proceedings]

2026. "The PACE Data Hackweek Launches a New Wave of Open Science: How We Did It (Twice), and Why.", Oceanography, 39 (2): [10.5670/oceanog.2026.e204] [Journal Article/Letter]