People of PACE: Anita Arnoldt is a Team Player, on the Softball Field and in the Cleanroom

A woman stands in the image, seen from the waist up and facing towards the right side of the image. She wears a white clean suit, which covers her torso and arms. She also has on a white mask, a hair net, blue latex gloves, and magnifying glasses. Her hands, raised to about her eye level are lit in a bright white light, which is shining on the task she is working on. To the right of the image are dark solid panels - PACE's solar panels, which are bordered in a golden color. To the woman's left is another person, wearing the same protective gear and watching the woman centered in the image work.

Anita Arnoldt is the electrical lead for PACE at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

A woman stands in the left portion of the image. She is seen from the shoulders up and is wearing a white clean room suit that covers her torso, arms, and goes over her head. She also has on blue latex gloves, a white mask over her nose and mouth, and magnifying glasses. To the right of the image is a portion of the PACE spacecraft, which is covered in a gold-colored foil-like material. The woman is holding wiring from the spacecraft and is looking closely at it.
Arnoldt working on pin retention on PACE. Image credit: Dennis Henry

What do you do for PACE?

I’m an electrical technician. I did all the harness wiring, routing, and thermal work, all the electrical work. I worked with Amy Huong, and together we did the wiring for both OCI and for the PACE spacecraft. We plugged it all in and tested it!

What are you most looking forward to once data starts coming in?

I’m looking forward to making sure everything works. If everyone is happy with the data they collect from all the spacecraft instruments, and everything is working well, then I’ll be happy.

What is your favorite color and why?

Blue, because that’s the color of the ocean and the sky. I just like looking at blue.

A man and a woman stand centered in the image, smiling at the camera. The man is taller than the woman and is wearing a blue button-up short sleeved polo with a Hawaiian shirt pattern of NASA logos, satellites, and clouds printed on it. The woman is wearing a black shirt and dark blue jeans. Behind them, positioned behind a protective sheet of plastic is the PACE spacecraft, which is covered in a silver foil like material.
Arnoldt and her husband, Jim, in front of PACE for family day. Image credit: Dennis Henry

What’s a fun fact about yourself?

I used to play softball for the Air Force. My husband is retired Air Force, so we were stationed in Italy and so I got to play on the European women’s softball team. I played first base and shortstop. We actually won that year for the European championship!

What advice would you give to aspiring scientists or engineers or technicians who are looking to get where you are today?

Try to learn as much as you can from the people that are around you. Make sure you have a really good team like we did on PACE – I think we had an excellent team from the top down. Everybody contributed so much, we communicated well, and it was just really good working together. And we had a fun time.

What is one catch all statement that you would want the public to know about the importance of PACE?

It’s important to study the climate and climate change to make sure people can make the best decisions – and PACE and OCI are going to help with that.

Header image caption: Arnoldt working on PACE’s solar panels. Image credit: Dennis Henry

By Erica McNamee, Science Writer at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center