PACE-PAX

Phytoplankton Flourish in Patagonian Waters

NASA earth observatory - Bloom season, already underway for several months, continued to dazzle in the productive South Atlantic waters off Argentina. Earlier, in austral spring 2024, satellites captured a clear image of a sizeable phytoplankton bloom along the Patagonian Shelf. Communities of the tiny aquatic organisms persisted into the long days of the Southern Hemisphere summer, painting surface waters in shades of green and blue into late December.

PACE-PAX Scientists Take to the Sea and Air (and Really High Air)

NASA Goddard - One of NASA’s most expansive and complex field campaigns took place over the month of September. The goal: to check the data that the new PACE satellite is collecting from orbit about Earth’s atmosphere and ocean. To do that, NASA’s PACE-PAX (Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem mission Postlaunch Airborne eXperiment) deployed several aircraft and ships from multiple locations in California, including Marina, Santa Barbara, and NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards.

Validating PACE and Inspiring Future Scientists

This story is from one of 63 virtual student engagement events held for NASA’s Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem Postlaunch Airborne Experiment (PACE-PAX). The mission used aircraft (the NASA ER-2 and CIRPAS Twin Otter) and waterborne research vessels (R/V Blissfully,R/V Shearwater, and R/V Fish) to calibrate and validate the data from the PACE satellite, which was launched in February 2024.

Validating PACE and Inspiring Future Scientists

EarthObservatory - This story is from one of 63 virtual student engagement events held for NASA’s Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem Postlaunch Airborne Experiment (PACE-PAX). The mission used aircraft (the NASA ER-2 and CIRPAS Twin Otter) and waterborne research vessels (R/V Blissfully,R/V Shearwater, and R/V Fish) to calibrate and validate the data from the PACE satellite, which was launched in February 2024.

High Altitude ER-2 Flights Get Down-to-Earth Data

AEROTECHNEWS - Operating at altitudes above 99 percent of the Earth’s atmosphere, NASA’s ER-2 aircraft is the agency’s highest-flying airborne science platform.

With its unique ability to observe from as high as 65,000 feet, the ER-2 aircraft is often a platform for Earth science that facilitates new and crucial information about our planet, especially when the plane is part of collaborative and multidisciplinary projects.