NASA Sends Sophisticated Satellite to Measure Climate Change in Earth’s Oceans and Atmosphere

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ANTARIKSA — NASA’s newest climate satellite launched into orbit on Thursday, February 8 2024. The satellite, named Pace, will observe the world’s oceans and atmosphere in detail that has never been seen before.

The $948 million mission was launched by SpaceX on a Falcon rocket, heading south across the Atlantic to reach a rare polar orbit. The satellite will spend at least three years studying the ocean from a height of 676 kilometers, as well as the atmosphere.

Pace, short for Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, Ocean Ecosystem, will scan the Earth every day with its two science instruments. Meanwhile, the third instrument will take measurements once a month. “This will be an unprecedented view of our home planet,” said project scientist Jeremy Werdell.

The data that Pace will send will help scientists see changes in Earth’s climate. This includes improving forecasts
hurricanes and other severe weather, detailing changes in the earth as temperatures rise, and predicting when harmful algae blooms will occur.

Also Read: How Vulnerable Are We to Climate Change? UN Report Will Explain It

NASA already has more than 20 Earth observation satellites and instruments in orbit. But Pace should provide better insight into how atmospheric aerosols such as pollutants and volcanic ash and marine life such as algae and plankton interact with each other.

“Pace will give us another dimension compared to what other satellites have observed,” said NASA’s director of earth sciences, Karen St. Germain.

Pace is the most advanced mission ever launched to study marine biology. According to Werdell, current Earth observing satellites can only see in seven or eight colors. Pace will see in 200 colors so it can identify types of algae in the sea and types of particles in the air.

Scientists hope to start getting data from the satellite in the next month or two. Source: Space.com