aerosol – PACE Mission

NASA Pilots Use Specialty Suits to Validate Data

Welcome to NASA’s Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem Postlaunch Airborne eXperiment (PACE-PAX). We’ve been talking about this validation campaign and now are finally here. “Here” being one of three main locations where PACE-PAX validation efforts are taking place: NASA’s Armstrong Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, California. PACE-PAX uses the unique vantage point of the ER-2 aircraft to gather data on small particles in the atmosphere and ultimately help verify the data gathered by the satellite in orbit.

NASA’s ER-2 aircraft flies high in the sky — approximately 70,000 feet in altitude, where the pilot can see the curvature of Earth. At that high an altitude, pilots must be equipped with a uniform closer to that of an astronaut rather than a flight suit. In fact, while flying the ER-2, the pilot sports a pressurized suit that is essentially a spacesuit.

“The spacesuit is the last line of defense against the elements at altitude,” said Kirt Stallings, an ER-2 research pilot. “If the aircraft cabin lost pressurization the spacesuit would automatically inflate protecting the pilot from the elements and allowing them to safely recover the aircraft.”

Two men stand centered in the image, facing each other. The man to the left, wearing jeans, a t-shirt, and a hat, helps secure a bright yellow spacesuit onto the man to the right. — Dowling helps zip Stallings into his spacesuit. Credit: NASA Goddard/Erica McNamee

Each pilot has their own spacesuit, which is tailored and fitted specifically to them. Stallings has been a pilot for 36 years, 22 of which have been dedicated to the ER-2 aircraft. Beneath his green and yellow suit is a mesh of netting and tubing designed to keep him safe and cool while in flight.

The suit is bulky and heavy, which means that Stallings requires a team of two other people to help him dress; on this flight Mark Dowling and Andrew Reynoso, life support technicians, are on the job.

The process is rigorous and important. Dowling and Reynoso suit him up, starting with the full body suit, pulling it taught over his legs before lifting the metal ring set to hold the helmet over his head. They tighten straps, zip up boots, fasten gloves, and attach the helmet.

A man wearing a yellow spacesuit sits in a chair, his left arm outstretched reaching for a glove that another man just at the edge of the image is holding for him. The man in the chair also has a space helmet on and is smiling at the camera. — Stallings, nearly in the full spacesuit, smiles on as he awaits a glove for his hand. Credit: NASA Goddard/Erica McNamee

“Wearing the suit is a bit like being in your own world,” Stallings said. “It’s very quiet except for the sound of the cooling air and your breathing. Once I’m suited up it’s fairly peaceful.”

While it might seem like Stallings is ready to go, there are still several check points the team reviews. The life support technicians first run cooled oxygen through a hose attached to the suit — it can get hot quickly inside the suit, and they want to make sure the pilot is comfortable. They then run a series of checks, communicating with Stallings through a microphone in his soundproof helmet.

One of the main steps involves pumping the suit full of air — pressurizing it — to check the seals. Once the checks are complete, Stallings sits in a lounge chair, breathing in pure oxygen, to get rid of all the nitrogen from in his blood. This helps minimize the chance of decompression sickness – which happens when someone experiences large changes in pressure.

A man in a yellow spacesuit sits in a chair, his eyes closed, and the spacesuit pressurized to look fully inflated. Two other men stand to his left and right checking seals on the spacesuit. — Stallings sits while his spacesuit is inflated. Dowling and Reynoso check and test the suit for leaks. The suit has a strap that is cinched to keep Stallings in a seated position during this test, otherwise the inflated suit would cause him to straighten out. Credit: NASA Goddard/Erica McNamee

This is all taking place nearly an hour before takeoff. Stallings waits in a van until just before takeoff, where he’s then helped into the aircraft by technicians, strapped in, and prepares to take flight. He’ll spend the next several hours on his own following a precise route of flight to ensure the scientific objectives for the mission are met. Timing is critical for PACE-PAX missions as the aircraft must be perfectly aligned with the satellite passing overhead.

“The opportunity to fly the ER-2 is certainly something I don’t take for granted,” Stallings said. “The view is something very special. It’s humbling and never gets old.”

Header image caption: Stallings rests while he is driven to the landing pad where the ER-2 waits. Credit: NASA Goddard/Erica McNamee

By Erica McNamee, science writer at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland

Stephen Broccardo: A ‘STAR’ in PACE Data Collection

Stephen Broccardo, research scientist at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley, is the principal investigator for the Sea-going Sky-Scanning Sun-tracking Atmospheric Research Radiometer (SeaSTAR). The ship-based instrument is one of many in a campaign set out to gather data around the world to check the information that NASA’s PACE (Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem) satellite is collecting in orbit. Broccardo will use SeaSTAR for the first time in an upcoming PACE validation campaign.

How are you going to be gathering your data?

I have spent about five years now building a new instrument, which I’ve called SeaSTAR. As far as I know, it’s going to be the only one of its type. It’s a custom-built Sun and sky photometer and polarimeter instrument that measures and quantifies the quantity and optical properties of atmospheric aerosols.

How does SeaSTAR compare to the instruments on PACE?

The PACE satellite is trying to quantify aerosols from space looking down. I’m trying to do it from the surface looking up. I do that in two ways. One way is just directly tracking the Sun, and the instrument measures the sunlight coming down through the atmosphere and how much was absorbed on its way through the atmosphere at various wavelengths. From that you could tell quite a lot about the aerosols in the atmosphere. The second way is a polarized mode where SeaSTAR is not tracking the Sun. Instead, it’s looking at the sky at a series of angles off the Sun and measuring the light coming in at various wavelengths and polarizations. From there, we should be able to infer not just the amount of aerosols in a column of atmosphere, but also some of their properties.

What are you most looking forward to during the validation campaign?

This will be the first deployment of SeaSTAR, which is pretty exciting. It’s been many years in the making. I’m looking forward to seeing the first data and being able to contribute that to the PACE project.

What is one catch-all statement you would use to describe the importance of your work?

When a satellite observes the ocean from space, most of the signals it receives are not from the ocean because the ocean is dark. Instead, it’s mostly from the atmosphere. So, in order to quantify what’s in the ocean, you need to somehow subtract out the atmosphere’s signal. My job is making sure that any assumptions made in algorithms are correct. By assuring the correct equation, we get a more accurate estimate of the amount of aerosols in a column of atmosphere and some of their properties.

Editor’s Note: This SeaSTAR instrument is different than the 1997 SeaSTAR spacecraft that carried the SeaWIFS instrument.

Header image caption: Stephen Broccardo looks over the shoulder of Steven Tammes, a grad student from the University of Iowa, while another onlooker peers at the computer screen too. Credit: Aaron McKinnon/NASA

By Erica McNamee, science writer at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center

Brice Grunert: The Great Campaign of the Great Lakes

Brice Grunert, assistant professor at Cleveland State University in Ohio, is a member of NASA’s PACE (Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem) validation science team. The team, called PACE Radiometry and IOPs for Novel Great Lakes Science (PRINGLS) is one of many groups participating in a campaign set out to gather data around the world to validate the accuracy of information from the PACE satellite up in orbit. He and his team recently took to the Great Lakes for one of many segments of the campaign to study light optical properties in the lake water.

The image is split by the horizon down the middle. The bottom part of the image is of the dark blue waters of the lake. There are slight ripples on the water, but no waves. The top portion of the image shows bright blue skies with some wispy clouds, primarily closer to the horizon. — Oligotrophic waters of Lake Superior’s Keweenaw Bay, with Michigan’s Huron Mountains in the background. Credit: Brice Grunert/CSU Ohio

Where did you go for your field campaign? Why did you choose that location?

We’re focusing on the western and central portions of Lake Erie and Lake Superior, as well as coastal Lake Michigan and the Green Bay area. The reasoning for why we’re selecting these sites is that there are really nice biogeochemical and optical gradients, or opportunities to see the transition regions. Green Bay is the best example – it receives a lot of river water input on its southern end from the Fox River, which accounts for about a third of the total phosphorus inputs to Lake Michigan. So, you have this narrow, constrained bay that receives an enormous amount of nutrients, which then joins the nutrient-poor Lake Michigan. This results in a gradient of nutrient-rich waters in the southern end, with low plant nutrients waters in the northern end, and these filaments of harmful algal blooms. You get just a ton of variability over the course of a single day of sampling – and that’s consistent with all the environments that we’re sampling within the Great Lakes.

The horizon of the image is about three-quarters of the way up the picture. The bottom portion of the picture shows green waters of the lake, some portions with white peaks from waves created from the boat, which can be slightly seen on the left side of the image. The top portion of the picture shows the gray-blue colored sky. — A cyanobacteria surface scum in Green Bay, Lake Michigan in July 2024, disturbed by the research vessel. Credit: Brice Grunert/CSU Ohio

How are you gathering your data? How do they relate to PACE’s instruments?

We’re using an above-water radiometer, which is a remote sensing instrument that measures reflectance. It is essentially measuring the same thing that PACE’s Ocean Color Instrument sensor measures – the light leaving the water surface. We also have a hyperspectral backscattering instrument, which measures the light reflected within an aquatic system. We combine information from the backscattering instrument with what we learn from water samples, which we use to measure absorption due to colored dissolved organic matter and particulate matter – for example, phytoplankton – to provide the inherent optical properties. Inherent optical properties are the fundamental pieces of an ecosystem that are going to contribute to the color of the water that the satellite is observing.

What are some of the rewards and challenges of field campaigns?

A woman and a man are sitting on a bench on a boat on the left side of the image. The man is sitting closer to the camera and is wearing a hat, a gray t-shirt, and black pants. The woman is wearing a hat, a black t-shirt, and pants. There is equipment and boxes in front of them, and an orange, circular life preserver hanging behind them. In the background are the brown-blue waters of the lake, as well as a brown building sitting on an island on the lake. — Trevor Holm, a Master of Science student, and Anshula Dhiman, a PhD student, recording station information at a western Lake Erie sampling site. Credit: Brice Grunert/CSU Ohio

You get to go to all these new locations and see how the system functions. It’s one thing to see it from satellite perspectives, but another thing to actually be out on the water and see that chlorophyll concentration that a satellite is seeing, which will look different across these unique environments. Being able to go out there and immerse yourself within that system, see the surroundings, and interact with new people is a huge reward for us.

The challenge is that you really never know what’s going to happen. For example, one time in April, the wave and wind forecasts looked good, and we got out there to find waves that were way too big to do any type of sampling. So, it’s sort of just having that mindset of accepting and being flexible with whatever comes your way.

What is one catch-all statement you would use to describe the importance of your work?

There really is a need for satellite observations to give us that spatial coverage and then that temporal piece that is often missing from your traditional kind of in-situ sampling campaigns. But then at the same time, the reason why we go out on these boats is because satellites have their own limitations.

We’re trying to push the envelope of what a satellite is able to tell us about Earth systems, by leveraging the strengths of an in-situ field campaign. The goal is to try to get the two – the field campaign and the satellite – as close together as possible and have the satellites see things as well as we can see them from a ship. That’s really a goal so that we can better understand our Earth systems.

Header image caption: Kendra Herweck, a research technician, and Emily Hyland, a Master of Science student, collecting water samples in Lake Superior’s Keweenaw Bay. Credit: Brice Grunert/CSU Ohio

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

Joaquim Goes: Gathering Data in the Bay of Bengal

Joaquim Goes, a professor of remote sensing research at Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory at Columbia University Climate School, is a member of the PACE (Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem) Northern Indian Ocean Validation group. The group is one of many in a campaign set out to gather data around the world to validate the information that the PACE satellite is collecting up in orbit. In June, Goes, along with team members from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland; Space Applications Center (SAC); ISRO (Indian Space Research Organization); and the Indian National Center Ocean Information Systems, embarked on a research vessel to the Bay of Bengal. They gathered data on phytoplankton communities and ocean color pigments.

Why did you choose that location for your research campaign?

The Bay of Bengal is connected to the Indian Ocean, but it’s strongly influenced by freshwater, which makes it a little different than many other bays and seas. We wanted to go somewhere that could show us the effects of this freshwater influence, and plus there isn’t a lot of historical data from that region. It presented us with the opportunity to investigate riverine influence on phytoplankton community structure, biogeochemistry, and ocean optical properties.

A man stands on board a ship facing the left side of the image. He is wearing a blue hard hat, a blue tshirt, gray shorts, and is holding a scientific instrument above his head, pointing it towards the sky. On the boat are tables and buckets next to the man. Just behind him are the railings of the side of the ship. The background of the image shows the flat blue water of the ocean, the horizon, which is about two thirds of the way up the image, and a gray-blue sky covered in clouds. — Joaquim Goes making sky radiance measurements with a hand-held radiometer during the Bay of Bengal Cruise. Credit: Dr. Anima Tirkey/Space Applications Centre, ISRO

How did you gather your data?

We had several bio-optical instruments on board the research ship, some of which operated continuously as the ship moved along a pre-determined cruise track while others were deployed when the ship stopped, usually at mid-day when PACE and Oceansat-3 were passing over our study area.

Some of the optical instruments measured the color of water using above water instruments, while others were deployed in the water allowing us to make ocean color measurements at different depths. The color of the water is the result of the interaction of sunlight with seawater and its constituents which include phytoplankton, minerals and other non-algal particles and colored dissolved organic matter. For example, if there are more phytoplankton in the water their photosynthetic pigments strongly absorb blue and green light, while scattering back green light, making the water green. The types of pigments phytoplankton contain vary, and the color they render the water can be used to deduce different phytoplankton types.

Instruments like the FlowCam helped us image the kinds of phytoplankton in the water, while others allowed us to study their ability to photosynthesize and fix atmospheric carbon dioxide. We also filtered water samples so that we could measure the types of phytoplankton pigments as well as the absorption of light by phytoplankton and non-phytoplankton particles and colored dissolved organic matter.

How are you planning on using PACE data?

We are really interested in looking at outbreaks of harmful algal blooms, which are becoming a water quality issue in the Northern Indian Ocean. These blooms are so widespread that they cannot be adequately sampled by ships alone. To address this, we need data to develop algorithms that will help us identify these blooms from space. PACE data and other satellite products can be implemented into early warning systems for harmful algal blooms which are causing havoc worldwide.

Three men stand on a boat, the man in the middle has his arms around the backs of the other two, all three facing the camera and smiling for the picture. The man on the left is wearing glasses, a white short sleeved shirt with a pink and pale green stripe pattern and blue jeans. The man in the middle is wearing glasses, a blue shirt and green pants. The man on the right is wearing sunglasses, a light blue shirt, and gray shorts. Behind them on the ship are railings to the edge of the ship as well as several pieces of machinery and equipment. The background of the image shows a blue-gray sky covered in clouds. — Joaquin Chaves and Scott Freeman from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center with Joaquim Goes on board the Research Vessel Thompson during the Bay of Bengal Cruise. Credit: Dr. Anima Tirkey/SAC, ISRO

What do you enjoy most about field work?

You get to meet new people. The feeling of comradeship and building networks is so exciting to me. I’m at a point in my career where I feel that it’s important for young people, especially from developing countries, to learn how to use the latest instrumentation and connect with others to support their research endeavors. On this campaign we had a diverse group of ocean and atmospheric scientists from NASA, the University of Washington, Notre Dame, and UMass Dartmouth, as well as two institutions from India, with many young people involved. We worked very closely with them to perfect some of the data collection methods and analyses protocols. Overall, the opportunity to meet new people and explore new places is what makes field work so enjoyable.

Header image caption: NASA PACE and ISRO Oceansat-3 calibration and validation teams from Space Applications Center, ISRO, Indian National Center for Ocean Information Services, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University along with Chief Scientist Dr. Craig Lee. Courtesy of Joaquim Goes

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

People of PACE: Marsha Gosselin Keeps PACE with the Budget

Marsha Gosselin is the financial specialist for PACE at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

What do you do for PACE?

I’m the financial specialist for PACE. I started on the project in early 2015 and worked on it continually through now. I managed all the budgets from all the engineers including helping them to create and take responsibility for their subsystem budget. One of my responsibilities was to ensure we maintained enough money in the overall budget and monitored their funds. I worked closely with all the engineers on the project and the scientists, to make sure everybody was on the same page with their budgets. I’m just the money lady!

What was your experience with watching PACE launch?

I watched it on my iPad. I am sure it wasn’t as exciting as being at the launch in person, but I loved it! I was anxiously waiting to make sure everything occurred on time and that it was a success.

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

I’m excited to see how they’re going to use it. Everyone talking about phytoplankton has been so interesting, so that’s what I’m curious about seeing.

What is your favorite color and why?

I would say yellow because it’s bright and sunny!

What’s a fun fact about yourself that a lot of people might not know about you?

I like to exercise, it’s my favorite thing to do since it makes me feel good. I often work out very early in the morning. I like to go on long walks at a very fast pace. People often can’t keep up with me!

What advice would you give to aspiring students who are looking to get where you are today?

Always ask questions and know that perseverance is very important if you don’t get answers right away. Take training when it is available. It’s also good to get on some committees to get your name known, especially when working in the finance discipline. Once you people get to know you it becomes easier for you to move up the ladder.

Header image caption: Gosselin working on all things PACE finance with her teleworking set up. Courtesy of Marsha Gosselin.

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

Signal Acquired: NASA’s PACE Spacecraft Begins Its Science Mission

NASA’s PACE (Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem) spacecraft has successfully made contact with ground stations back on Earth providing teams with early readings of its overall status, health, operation, and capabilities postlaunch.

A full postlaunch assessment review to determine PACE’s readiness to move into the operational phase of its mission will be conducted in the coming weeks.

Information collected throughout PACE’s mission will benefit society in the areas of ocean health, harmful algal bloom monitoring, ecological forecasting, and air quality. PACE also will contribute new global measurements of ocean color, cloud properties, and aerosols, which will be essential to understanding the global carbon cycle and ocean ecosystem responses to a changing climate.

The PACE’s mission is designed to last at least three years, though the spacecraft is loaded with enough propellant to expand that timeline more than three times as long.

To read more about the launch of the PACE mission, please visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-launches-new-climate-mission-to-study-ocean-atmosphere/

NASA’s PACE Spacecraft Separation

NASA’s PACE (Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem) spacecraft has separated from the Falcon 9 rocket’s second stage, beginning its science mission from sun-synchronous orbit about 420 miles above the Earth’s surface.

The Falcon 9 Sticks Its Landing

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket’s first stage has successfully landed at Landing Zone 1 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Tonight’s mission marks the fourth completed flight for this Falcon 9.

Coming Up: Falcon 9 Max Q, Main Engine Cutoff, and Stage Separation

A series of rapid events occurs after launch. After Max Q – the moment of peak mechanical stress on the rocket – the nine Merlin engines of the Falcon 9’s first stage will finish their burn and cut off during a phase called MECO or Main Engine Cutoff.

Quickly after MECO, the stage separation sequence occurs. The second stage carrying NASA’s PACE (Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem) spacecraft will continue on its journey to sun-synchronous orbit.

Coming up next, the Falcon 9’s second stage engine ignites, and the protective payload fairings will be jettisoned to reveal NASA’s PACE (Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem) spacecraft to the vacuum of space for the first time.

Meanwhile, the first stage of the rocket begins its recovery journey for a vertical landing at SpaceX Landing Zone 1 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Landing should occur about eight and a half minutes after liftoff.

Stay right here on the blog for more live mission coverage.

Liftoff! NASA’s Earth Science Mission Launches Into Space Coast Sky

3, 2, 1 … LIFTOFF! A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying NASA’s PACE (Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem) spacecraft launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 40 at 1:33 a.m. EST Thursday, Feb. 8.

The next milestone is Max Q or maximum dynamic pressure – the moment of peak mechanical stress on the rocket.

Continue following live coverage of launch milestones here on the blog, or watch live coverage on the NASA+ streaming service, NASA Television, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website. Learn how to stream NASA TV through a variety of platforms, including social media.