(CNN) - A revolutionary new satellite that will provide an unprecedented look at Earth’s microscopic marine life and tiny atmospheric particles has launched.
The NASA PACE, or Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, and ocean Ecosystem, mission lifted off at 1:33 a.m. ET Thursday aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The rocket’s booster successfully landed back on Earth about 10 minutes after launch. Just over half an hour after liftoff, the team confirmed that the spacecraft’s solar arrays deployed and it was receiving power.