NASA – PACE Mission

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: Inia Soto Ramos Studies Data from the Sea and Space

Inia M. Soto Ramos is an associate researcher and one of PACE’s data validation leads at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

A woman is seen underwater, giving the entire picture a blue hue. She is wearing a scuba mask and has a respirator in her mouth, connected to a tank on her back with several tubes. She is wearing flippers and a wet suit. Her dark hair is floating all around her head as she looks up at the camera. Behind her is a coral reef and sand at the bottom of the ocean can be seen to the right of the image too. — Soto Ramos diving in the West Coast of Puerto Rico. Courtesy of Inia Soto Ramos

What is your favorite atmospheric or ocean related book or movie?

I will go with “The Silent World” (1953) by Jacques Cousteau and Frédéric Dumas. It’s a book but was later made into a documentary. I’m a diver, so it’s really cool to see the advancements of diving over time. Back in that day, divers were attached to a cord back to the surface that provided air. Then came along the Aqua-Lung technology so they no longer needed the cord and swam free to explore. It opened our eyes to the wonders of the ocean, and it started sparking more research and more curiosity. It was risky and exciting.

What is your background?

I’ve used ocean color imagery since 2005, when I started doing my PhD. It helped me study coral reefs and the connectivity among different coral reef communities, and how river plumes can go from one reef area to another reef area. Then, I moved into studying phytoplankton from space and creating algorithms to detect harmful algal blooms.

What do you do for PACE?

A woman stands to the right of the image, facing the left side. She is wearing a black baseball cap with her dark hair tied up. She also has on a teal shirt and black pants. She is holding a small instrument in her hands and is looking at it closely. Behind her are the blue green colors of the ocean, flat without waves. The woman is standing at the edge of a boat with a blue container in front of her. — Soto Ramos taking optical measurements during a Harmful Algal Blooms off the coast of Campeche, Mexico. Courtesy of Inia Soto Ramos

PACE data is compared with similar measurements collected in the ocean and atmosphere to make sure they agree; and that process is called satellite validation. In addition to being a part of the science team, I help the validation team by making sure we have enough field data to validate PACE data. This process allows us to know how good the data is and whether there any issues that need to be resolved. Once we know the data is good, we can use it to create algorithm to derive satellite products that are meaningful to the public and scientific community, such as water and air quality products. I am part of the SeaWiFS Bio-optical Archive and Storage System (SeaBASS) Team that archives data from scientists all around the world, which are then used to either validate the ocean color sensor data or to create algorithms. That will be the main database for PACE, so I make sure the data that is gathered goes into the system and is used for PACE validation.

What was your favorite part of watching launch?

I was at launch with my little one, so it was very exciting to be with him and to show him where the actual launch was from. The funniest thing he said to me was “no, PACE is not in space”, and I asked why, and he said it was too big to fit on the capsule! I had to explain to him that the capsule was bigger but that we were so far from it, that it looked much smaller than what it is! It was also great to see some of my long-time friends and colleagues and share this one-in a lifetime experience with them.

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

A woman stands to the left of the image, facing the right side, inside a small room and next to a countertop and sink. On the counter are several containers, bottles, and tubing. The woman, wearing a dark blue shirt and black pants, is holding a graduated cylinder out in front of her. There is a window on the back wall in the image, which is casting a bright glow into the room. — Soto Ramos filtering water for optical measurements in the Lagoa dos Patos, Brazil. Courtesy of Inia Soto Ramos

The first thing will be seeing how the PACE data matches up with the field data. Then, I’m excited to start getting some information about different types of phytoplankton and comparing that data to more advanced types of classifications of phytoplankton.

What is your favorite color and why?

I don’t have a favorite color. I have quite a bit of a flamboyant personality. I usually wear a lot of colors and I like to mix them, it’s hard for me to decide on the one color itself. You’ll see me with something red, something blue, something pink – I like them all!

A woman with dark hair sits on a moss covered rock with a small boy sitting between her legs. They are centered in the image and smiling at the camera. Behind them are several other moss covered boulders and lots of leaves and foliage. Much of the image is a bright green color because of the greenery. — Soto Ramos and her son hiking in the Shenandoah National Park, Virginia. Courtesy of Inia Soto Ramos

What’s a fun fact about yourself?

Centered in the image is a brown and black colored beetle. The beetle is facing the bottom right corner of the image. On the head of the beetle are two block spots that look like large eyes. The beetle is resting on the black fabric of pant legs which extends across the image from the top left corner to the bottom right corner. The background is red wooded planks of wood. — One cool finding during a hike Soto Ramos took with her son. It is an Eastern Eyed Click Beetle! Courtesy of Inia Soto Ramos

I like exploring and being active. Before I had my child I used to go diving, I did acro-yoga. After my son, I’ve slowed down a little bit, but we like to go hiking a lot and every year we try to go camping in a different place. We like gardening together and looking for bugs, which was not something I thought was going to be part of motherhood. We love going out and searching for bugs and creatures. Once he gets bigger, maybe we’ll go back to the more adventurous activities like diving.

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

I think persistence is the key! Even when we know what we want, life can’t be taken as a straight path and in a hurry. One of the mistakes that we do sometimes is that we think we need to go to college, we need to finish in four years, we need to keep going to the next step and finish as fast as we can. But little detours along my path helped me really find what I wanted to do, and also gave me the skills to find a job. So, I think those little detours, those opportunities, are the key to success. I strongly encourage internships and REU programs, study abroad programs, go and present at scientific meetings, participate in field campaigns, and go out of the traditional classroom!

Also, always have something to enjoy a little bit outside of work. Have a hobby to go do things that make you happy. You need something else also to keep you going, and when you’re happy you’re successful.

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

PACE is going to make an impact on communities. The science that is going to come out of PACE is really going to impact our quality of life and our enjoyment of our resources like the oceans and the air.

PACE will open our eyes about the wonders of the ocean, new things that we haven’t explored, new things that we don’t understand. I really encourage teachers and parents to use some of the resources from PACE, because young people are the ones that need to be fascinated by the ocean – those are the future generations that are going to take care of our resources.

Header image caption: Soto Ramos hiking in the Connemara National Park, Ireland. Courtesy of Inia Soto Ramos

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

People of PACE: Bridget Seegers Sails the Seas… and Studies Them Too!

Bridget Seegers is an oceanographer at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland and a team member for NASA’s Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) mission.

A woman stands slightly to the right of center of the image. She is wearing a black T-shirt and has a hat on. She looks to the left of the image, out in the distance. She is standing on a boat and is holding the steering wheel in her left hand and rope in her right hand. Behind her is the ocean, part of a harbor, and a blue sky with some clouds. — Bridget captaining her sailboat, Blissfully. That’s the boat name and she is quite blissful while sailing. Image Credit: Azul Gutierrez

What is your favorite atmosphere or ocean related book or movie?

“Life Aquatic” definitely comes to mind. It’s amazingly accurate in how it depicts certain aspects of life on a research vessel. For a book, there’s one called “The Long Way” by Bernard Moitessier. It’s about him sailing solo in a race around the world, way back in the day (1968), which is very interesting.

What is your research about?

I focus on harmful algal blooms. There are a lot of little, teeny organisms called phytoplankton in the ocean and lakes, and sometimes they grow into huge numbers, and we call that a bloom. That can be good because it feeds the food web, but sometimes it can be toxic and cause problems. People monitor those harmful events to reduce human exposure to any of the harmful toxins. I use satellites to monitor for these harmful events and help water quality managers respond to them.

Bridget with PACE ready for launch on top of a Falcon 9 rocket. Image Credit: Bridget Seegers

What was your favorite part of watching the launch?

The PACE team, friends, and families being together sharing all the excitement, hugs, and emotions was my favorite part of launch. It was incredible watching the rocket light up the night as PACE began its journey to space! And, of course, fantastic to hear updates throughout launch and since that all is well with PACE and the instruments. All wonderful experiences!

What are you most looking forward to post-launch?

The data and exactly what we can do with it. There’s been a lot of talks and hopes of what this data will be like, but there’s never been a satellite like PACE. We can imagine all these products, but it’ll be great to see what we actually can do with the products. If we can tell one type of phytoplankton from another, we can hopefully tell some of the more harmful ones from ones that are just average members of the phytoplankton community that aren’t causing problems.

We know that OCI on PACE is going to be able to look at all the colors of the ocean, so what is your favorite color and why?

My favorite color is purple. Why? I don’t know, it just feels right.

Centered in the image is an aquatic creature - a Christmas tree worm. The magenta colored creature is in a spiral shape, spiraling upwards, where the diameter gets smaller as it rises - looking like the shape of a Christmas tree. Towards the center of the spiral, the color changes to a pale mint green. — Christmas Tree worms from a reef in Rangiora from when Bridget was sailing there. Image Credit: Rory Moore

Do you have a favorite type of phytoplankton or sea creature?

I think my favorite sea creature would be Christmas tree worms. They live on coral reefs and they like pop out and they look like an evergreen tree. They come in all these different colors. When you get close, they like pull themselves in, but then they pop back up. They’re really fun and colorful, and they’re kind of interactive. For phytoplankton, there are a variety of species that bioluminesce and I think that’s pretty magical when you see the ocean light up at night, either with breaking waves or running your hands through it.

A woman stands on a pale pink surfboard, riding in a wave. She wears a black wet suit which covers her legs, torso, and arms. Her hair is wet. She is facing the right of the image, while traveling towards the left. The water she is surfing on is a dark gray color, with a white wave break behind her. The sky is cloudy and gray. — Bridget on her surfboard named Purple Rain catching a little wave and waving to a friend on a gray July day along the Southern California coast. Image Credit: Matt Marbach

What is a fun fact about yourself?

I like to sail. I had a friend who solo circumnavigated the globe, so I met him to sail in a variety of places like around French Polynesia, around nearly half of South Africa, and north of the Arctic Circle in this chain of islands called the Lofoten Islands. I was also able to surf north of the Arctic Circle from the sailboat!

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

Bridget with Chloe and Luca at a San Diego elementary school. They are prepping a plankton sample to view on the microscope. Image Credit: Isa Tavera.

Stay curious and be motivated by asking questions. Follow what interests you and what you’re passionate about. It’s not always a direct path and science can be a little bit tedious, so it’s really important to trust yourself and to pursue things that are interesting to you. Ask questions and don’t be afraid to chat with other scientists. Sometimes people think scientists are intimidating, but we’re mostly pretty nice and slightly awkward, so I would have those conversations!

What is one catch-all statement describing the importance of PACE?

Knowledge is power. For both PACE and science in general, the more information we have the better we understand things, and the more able we are to respond to the changing planet in an effective and meaningful way that empowers us.

Header image caption: Bridget with the PACE observatory. Image Credit: Dennis Henry

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

People of PACE: Fred Huemmrich Plants the Seeds of Inspiration

Fred Huemmrich is a member of NASA’s Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) science and applications team and a research professor at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

What is your favorite atmosphere, land, or ocean related book or movie?

“Dune.” To be specific, I really liked the appendix of Dune which has the story of the imperial planetologists, and when I read that as a kid it was the first time I ever thought of the concept of looking at an entire planet’s ecosystem. So, my goal in life is always to become an imperial planetologist.

The image is a selfie of a bearded man seen from the shoulders up. He is wearing a dark green zip-up jacket, and also has glasses on. Behind him are scientific instruments, which look like long metal rods standing up as well as some buckets. In the far background is a grassy field and a clear blue sky. — Fred on top of an instrument tower at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center. Image Credit: Fred Huemmrich

How will PACE help your research?

One of the things that I’m really interested in is the dynamic of ecosystems on land, and how they change over time. PACE really excites me because it’s an opportunity to look – with new, hyperspectral data – at seasonal dynamics of these ecosystems, or even shorter-term effects like droughts or heat stress or cold snaps. With the hyperspectral data available from PACE and OCI we’ll be able to do things like look at changes in leaf level pigment contents and biochemistry. Plants are constantly altering themselves to adjust to the environment and that is something we can see from data on the light that reflects off them. I’m really excited about PACE giving us this data of time series for vegetation types all over the world.

What are you most looking forward to after launch?

I envision doing a study, looking at the indices of plant conditions globally, after the first month of data. I’m going to make a global map because we just don’t even know what it will look like. That’s going to be the first step after launch.

OCI on PACE is going to be able to look at all the colors of the rainbow. What is your favorite color and why?

My favorite color is one you can’t see! Almost all the light that hits plant leaves in the visible wavelengths gets absorbed, except there’s a little hump in the green that they don’t quite absorb as much, which is why we see them as green. But just beyond what we can see, in the near-infrared, leaves have almost no absorption. If we could see leaves in the near-infrared it would almost be like looking at like highway signs that like reflect light back on you really brightly. In green leaves the transition from the visible wavelengths to the near infrared wavelengths is called the red edge and measuring it gives you a lot of information about how much chlorophyll is in leaves.

Do you have a favorite plant?

The image is a selfie of a man seen from the shoulders up. He is wearing a dark colored shirt and has a netted material covering his entire heat. His face can be seen through the netting and he is wearing glasses and has a beard. Behind him is a large grassy field. The sky is bright blue and has some white fluffy clouds. — Fred doing fieldwork in the arctic tundra dealing with the mosquitos. Image Credit: Fred Huemmrich

One that I’m fond of is black spruce. Over the years I’ve done a fair amount of work in the boreal forests. In fact, just last this past summer I was doing fieldwork in the boreal forests in Alaska. I’m really interested in seeing if we can use the PACE data to detect changes in the spruce needle biochemistry that we can’t do with the satellites we have now.

What is a fun fact about yourself?

I worked my way through college in a brewery!

What is some advice that you would give to aspiring scientists who are looking to be where you are today?

A man stands on the left side of the image, seen from the knees up. He is wearing brown khaki pants and a button up shirt which is rolled up at his elbows. He also has glasses on. He looks to his right (the left in the image) and is pointing to a map projected onto a screen to the right of the image. The map is of ice-covered areas in the ocean. — Fred presenting results of arctic tundra research at Grey Towers National Historic Site in Milford, PA. Courtesy: Fred Huemmrich

One of the pieces of advice I give to my undergraduate students is that when I was an undergraduate, not only did I not know what I was going to end up doing, I didn’t know that what I ended up doing even existed. Very often undergraduates don’t have a lot of experience in the range of jobs available in the world. And that’s, of course, changing all the time with technology. One of the things that’s important for them to do is to look around and try to get outside of a narrow thing that they’re focused on, and spread out a little bit to look at what might be available because they might be surprised at what they find.

What is one catch-all statement describing the importance of PACE?

PACE is going to give us a fundamentally new view of the way ecosystems work on the planet.

Header image caption: Fred measuring spectral reflectance and photosynthesis in a cornfield. These types of measurements are used to develop approaches for applying PACE data to determine crop productivity. Courtesy: Fred Huemmrich

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

NASA Hosts Media Viewing of Spacecraft to Study Oceans, Clouds

Media visit NASA's PACE spacecraft in a cleanroom. — Members of NASA’s PACE (Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem) team are photographed with the spacecraft on Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2024, during a NASA-hosted media day inside a cleanroom at the Astrotech Space Operations Facility near NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Photo credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky

Members of the media viewed NASA’s PACE (Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud ocean Ecosystem) spacecraft on Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2024, at the Astrotech Space Operations facility near the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Subject matter experts from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, NASA Headquarters in Washington, and the agency’s Launch Services Program based at Kennedy provided an overview of the Earth observing science mission and answered questions about PACE. Data from the mission will help NASA understand how the ocean and atmosphere exchange carbon dioxide, measure key atmospheric variables associated with air quality and Earth’s climate, and monitor ocean health through the study of phytoplankton.

The opportunity provided media with a final look at the spacecraft before encapsulation in preparation for launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Liftoff is targeted for Tuesday, Feb 6, from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

People of PACE: Kirk Knobelspiesse Keeps His Eyes on the Skies

Kirk Knobelspiesse is an atmospheric scientist and the project science team polarimeter lead for PACE at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. He is also the polarimeter instrument scientist for the Atmosphere Observing System (AOS) constellation.

A man stands centered in the image standing straight with his arms held out on either side of him. He is standing on a tan sand dune. The sky behind him is a light blue and gray color. — Kirk Knobelspiesse hiking sand dunes near Swakopmund, Namibia, during the ORACLEs field campaign. Image Credit: Michal Segal-Rozenhaimer

What is your favorite atmospheric or ocean related book or movie?

There was a series on Netflix called “Connected” that had an episode called “Dust.” The general idea is that everything in the world is connected, so it started with dust that was generated in the Sahara Desert, specifically the Bodélé Depression. And that dust – which is really from a dry lakebed – gets lofted into the atmosphere and goes out over the oceans, and in the process interacts with clouds and potentially fertilizes the ocean. That dust makes it all the way to the Amazon basin where it may also be an important source of nutrients.

What is your background?

I am a photographer who got really into imaging of all kinds, which led me to remote sensing. I ended up doing work on remote sensing of Earth from space and worked on SeaWiFs, which was an early ocean color mission. I decided I need to go back to grad school and get a more quantitative education, so I got an applied math degree at Columbia University.

What are you most looking forward to during launch?

Earlier in my career I worked on a satellite that had a launch failure (Glory in 2011). So, during launch, I am going to shut myself in a closet and not learn any news until somebody tells me it’s all over. Because it makes me so nervous. A lot of people want to go and see the launch and that kind of thing. Not me, I’m going to stay away. Somebody will tell me when it’s all over.

What are you most looking forward to post-launch?

A man is sitting at a desk in an office. He is facing the camera and appears to be taking a selfie. He takes up the right side of the image. The left side of the image shows a computer screen and a water bottle, which the man is holding. In the background, the office door, a coat rack, and part of a whiteboard can be seen. — Kirk Knobelspiesse in his office at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. Image Credit: Kirk Knobelspiesse

I have a list of all the Science and Nature papers we’re hoping to write with PACE data. It’s ambitious, a little bit. But there are new types of observations that we will be making, that no other satellite will have done so far, at least not at a global scale. One aspect I’m interested in is just exploring the data, looking for basic things that will be useful for our understanding of aerosols and clouds and the climate in general.

I have some pet projects that I’ve always been interested in, for example a specific situation when aerosols are lofted above clouds. Aerosols are generally something that cools the climate because they reflect light. But if you have, say, a dark smoke aerosol on top of the cloud, it actually warms the climate, because it absorbs some of the energy that would have otherwise been reflected into space. So that’s something we’ll be able to do with PACE that we don’t really have great observations of now.

What is your favorite color and why?

I have a 10-year-old daughter, and favorite colors are very important to her and her friends. They’re always asking me what my favorite color is, and I say I can never answer them because how can you like one color without liking all the others?

Do you have a favorite type of cloud or weird atmospheric phenomena?

There’s also an optical phenomenon called glory. If you’re floating above a cloud and the Sun is behind, you look down at your shadow and you will see your shadow with a glory around it, which is like a circular rainbow around yourself. That’s one of my favorite optical phenomena.

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

Kirk Knobelspiesse working on the NASA P-3 during the ORACLES field campaign in São Tomé, São Tomé and Príncipe. Image Credit: Andrzej Wasilewski

I’ve been to latitude zero, longitude zero, the point in the South Atlantic Ocean where the equator and prime meridian intersect. It was part of the ORACLES field campaign. There’s nothing special there. It’s just ocean – and I don’t mean to offend my oceanographer friends by saying it’s nothing special – but there was no pillar of fire or something like that.

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

Don’t pigeonhole yourself into one discipline or one topic of study. Not just computer science or physics or oceanography. They’re human constructs, sociological constructs, and they don’t have anything to do with nature, other than how we have organized ourselves. A lot of where I’ve found interesting and productive things to do have been at the boundary between disciplines, or learning from one discipline and applying that approach to another discipline. So, don’t tell yourself, “I can’t do something because I’m not trained to do that.” You can learn and you can train yourself, and don’t be afraid to go out on a limb and do something you don’t really know how to do.

What is one catch-all statement describing the importance of PACE?

We will be making use of things that people cannot see – the nature of light – to understand things that we can’t otherwise observe.

Header image caption: Kirk Knobelspiesse hiking at Rachel Carson Conservation Park in Brookeville, Md. Image Credit: Barbara Balestra

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

People of PACE: Corrine Rojas Helps Connect Science to Engineering and Back

Corrine Rojas is a scientific programmer in the ocean ecology lab at NASA’s Goddard Spaceflight Center.

Before we dive into your work with PACE, what is your favorite ocean- or atmosphere-related book or movie?

I’m a big fan of ridiculous sci-fi/horror movies, and when it comes to the depths of the ocean, Sphere (1998) is one of my favorites in that genre. It’s a psychological thriller with everything you’d ever want – logistically impossible ocean research vessels, Hollywood science, aliens, spooky deep-sea fish, and even Queen Latifah!

Corrine stands to the left of the image in a nacy blue polo and black pants. Directly behind and to the right of her is Optimism. The rover has large black wheels and it's main frame is covered in several mechanical pieces and wires. The "face" of the rover is on it's left side, still to the right of Corrine. — A picture of Corrine Rojas and the Perseverance Rover’s twin on Earth, Optimism, at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. Optimism is a vehicle system test bed used for safety testing of moves and navigation scenarios on Earth before performing them on Mars. (more info here: https://mars.nasa.gov/resources/26356/improved-optimism/) Image Credit: Corrine Rojas

What is your background? What do you do for PACE?

Before PACE, I worked on a lunar mission called Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, and then a couple of Mars missions including the Curiosity and Perseverance rovers. And now I’m here, back down to Earth! I’m doing science operations for Earth missions that look at ocean ecology. And there is just so much life to track here! Doing science operations, I’m a liaison between the engineering team that will control the spacecraft and the scientists that will be monitoring the atmosphere and the ocean ecology. I have to have a background in both science and engineering. I moved to Maryland from Arizona, and before PACE I was working on the Jezero Delta on Mars, near where the Perseverance rover landed. So, I’m coming in from two different deserts, and I now live much closer to the ocean flora and fauna looking at the ocean from space for a living. I feel like a little alien!

What does programming and science operations entail?

As a programmer, I’m developing tools that will tell the spacecraft where to look. Once we’re in orbit, I’ll make sure that the science team gets their priority observations. For example, if someone’s out on a research cruise collecting samples in the open sea, we can time the spacecraft to take pictures overhead which will be a really good data point for them. We’re making sure those scientists are getting what they want and packaging these spacecraft commands in a way that also works with the mission operations schedule.

Corrine is standing centered in the image with one hand raised into the air. She is on a large plane of warped ground, cooled lava, which is a dark black and grey color. The sky above her is peeking through as blue at the horizon, but is primarily a cloudy gray color. — Corrine Rojas doing field work on Mauna Loa, Hawai’i using orbital data maps to understand the volcanic origins of the Jezero Crater floor on Mars that the Perseverance rover has been investigating. (more: https://www.nasa.gov/missions/mars-2020-perseverance/perseverance-rover/nasas-perseverance-makes-new-discoveries-in-mars-jezero-crater/) Image Credit: Corrine Rojas

What advice would you give other early career scientists or other people looking to get into science operations or finding their space in… well, space?

I didn’t always see myself working at NASA. I studied political science for a few years before coming into geography and that’s my academic background – modern day geography translated into programming.

But really, what has opened the door to having this as a career, is my love for maps. Creating and reading maps has always been a passion of mine. And that passion translated to creating maps of the surface of the Moon and the geology of Mars through NASA missions. I’m grateful that NASA needs a variety of disciplines to make a mission possible.

NASA has jobs that range from computer programmers like me, to mechanical engineers and scientists, but also writers and photographers. Even finance folks. It takes a lot of different disciplines to make a NASA mission work. And if you find something that you really enjoy, there’s probably going to be a related job that can take you to working on a mission.

Corrine stands to the left of the image, wearing a white clean suit that covers her whole body including torso, arms, and head. She is seen only from the waste up in this picture and is crossing her arms across her chest. She also wears a white mask to cover her nose and mouth. To the right of her is the PACE spacecraft, which takes up a majority of the image. It is primarily a silver color and much of the spacecraft is covered in foil. — A portrait of Corrine Rojas all bunny suited-up in front of the PACE spacecraft a few weeks before it shipped to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida for launch. Image Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Denny Henry

What are you most looking forward to post-launch?

That’s when my job really starts! After the spacecraft is commissioned, we’ll start commanding the sensors to take scientific observations. I’m looking forward to working with the world’s best oceanographers and atmospheric scientists, making sure that they’re getting the data they want. Hopefully we’ll have more answers regarding Earth sciences and climatology studies, especially aerosol studies since we don’t have a lot of that data. All this data will help anywhere from fisheries to disaster management and more. Everyone relying on that data is about to get a firehose of information, and I’m excited to see them dig into it.

Corrine stands centered in the image wearing pale mauve colored leggings, a white workout shirt, a green ball cap, and a brown weightlifting belt. She stands by a weight rack, directly behind the bar with her right hand resting on the black bar. She is taking this picture in a mirror using her cellphone which is in her left hand. — At the gym on center at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center! Image Credit: Corrine Rojas

What is a fun fact about yourself? Something that people might not know about you?

I’m a newbie, but I weightlift pretty consistently. It’s just something that I enjoy doing that takes me away from the screen and into the present moment. I can just focus on the here and now, and my body getting really strong and staying healthy.

What is one catch-all statement describing the importance of PACE?

PACE is going to help us track the heartbeat of ocean, from a few meters below the sea surface all the way up to the top of the atmosphere.

Corrine is standing centered in the image wearing a blue polo. Her hands are raised slightly up and next to her as if she is presenting something with them. Behind her is the PACE spacecraft, large, cube-like, and primarily a silver color. PACE is sitting behind a glass window separating it from where Corrine is standing. — A quick shot in front of the PACE spacecraft after volunteering for a PACE friends and family event. Image Credit: Corrine Rojas

Header image caption: Corrine Rojas during one of her many walks around Washington, D.C. during cherry blossom season. Image Credit: Corrine Rojas

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

PACE Successfully Completes Key Environmental Test

Consider it the “mother of all tests.”

This summer, the PACE spacecraft (short for Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem) completed a critical phase of its launch journey: the thermal vacuum test (TVAC), where it was subjected to extreme temperatures and pressures in a specialized chamber at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

The objective? To verify the performance of the satellite once it’s launched and operational.

“This is the best way to simulate what PACE will experience in space,” said Craig Stevens, spacecraft systems lead. “Space is a vacuum, and the observatory is exposed to extreme temperatures. We must make sure PACE is ready for that environment.”

After months of round-the-clock shifts, numerous protocols, and a lot of team synergy, the mission completed its environmental testing in August, making it one step closer to launching in early January 2024.

“This proves the PACE observatory can withstand the rigorous thermal environment once it is launched and inserted into its operational environment,” said Mark Voyton, the mission project manager. “Completing the TVAC test is extremely significant, as it represents the last environmental test in our six-month environmental test campaign.”

The perspective of the image is from the top of the chamber peering down, looking into the chamber at the observatory. The inner walls of the test chamber are black, and the observatory, centered in the image and in the chamber, contrasts that darkness with copper-colored reflective material shining against the black. There are four scientists in white protective clean suits around the observatory and wires scattered on the floor connecting to the observatory and the chamber walls. — An overview of the PACE satellite entering a thermal vacuum chamber. Before the doors closed, the whole observatory was run through additional testing. Image Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Denny Henry

Getting to this final test was a challenge for team members given the time and resources TVAC can take.

Before things could begin, the satellite was placed in the thermal chamber for a week earlier in June at NASA Goddard for setup.

Before the door for testing was closed, each team that had worked on PACE verified their part of the observatory was in working order, said Daniel Powers, PACE’s thermal product development lead. Members of the control room were also standing by to ensure that when the power for thermal testing went on, things worked properly.

Once the chamber door closed, official testing lasted about 33 days.

The camera peers through parts of the observatory, focusing on an engineer who is looking intently at parts of the observatory. The engineer is wearing white protective clean gear that covers up over his head, and also includes a mask, so the only part of his face that is seen are his glasses-covered eyes. The parts of the observatory surrounding the scientist are a glimmering silver color. — Gary Davis, the missions systems engineer for PACE, examines the observatory before critical testing. Image Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Denny Henry

“This is the final verification that everything is working on the spacecraft as expected. We take it to temperature extremes as well,” said Powers. “By taking it to the expected extreme environments we will see on orbit, we can see that we have everything setup and designed properly from a thermal perspective.”

The team worked three shifts – covering 24 hours each day, every day – to ensure operations ran on a strict timetable.

“You have a full marching army, and it’s all hands-on deck,” Powers said.

A majority of the image is taken up by the observatory, primarily from the left side of the image. The complex pieces of the observatory are surrounded by wires and reflective foil-like material. Centered in the image is a red piece of equipment on the observatory, stoutly cylindrically shaped. To the right of the image stands a scientist in a full white protective suit. They stand feet slightly apart with hands resting on their hips, in a superman-like pose. — Members of the PACE team continue testing in Goddard’s TVAC chamber. Image Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Denny Henry

PACE now has two more tests at ambient temperature and pressure, which complete the observatory’s post-environmental testing. Then the team begins preparing for the spacecraft’s journey to Florida and its launchpad.

Header image caption: The PACE observatory enters a thermal vacuum chamber at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. It stayed in the chamber for 33 days of testing. Image Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Denny Henry

By Sara Blumberg, NASA Oceans Communications Lead at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center

Six Weeks at Sea: NASA Scientists Double-Check Satellite Ocean Color Data

NASA researcher Joaquin Chaves calls it “ground truthing,” even though land is nowhere in sight.

This spring, Chaves boarded the Atlantic Meridional Transect (AMT) research cruise for six weeks of sampling water and taking measurements as the ship traversed the Atlantic Ocean. His team, based at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, uses that information gathered at sea to verify and improve ocean data from an array of Earth-observing satellites and instruments in orbit.

Upcoming satellites like the PACE, or Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem, mission launching in early 2024, will also use field campaigns like this one to help validate their sensors.

A scientist is crouching in front of a gray tank holding a small brown glass bottle. The scientist is wearing purple latex gloves and a green hard hat to safely perform the research aboard the ship. — Chaves is preparing to conduct scientific research while onboard. He worked around the clock to collect samples that will help check the accuracy of satellite data. Image Credit: NASA/Joaquin Chaves

These sensors start collecting data soon after launch, but it takes time to ensure that those observations are accurate and reflect what is happening back on Earth. One of the best ways to do this is to send scientists like Chaves into the field.

On the spring cruise, Chaves was joined by another NASA Goddard scientist, Harrison Smith.

“It was a lot of work, always intense,” Chaves said. “Even before you sail, you’re setting up. Every day is a work day, there are no Saturdays or Sundays.”

During their time on the cruise, the NASA team collected two types of data to build mathematical models to validate satellite data. Validation is the practice of checking the accuracy of data before it’s processed and used by NASA and its partners.

The first data type was the optical properties of water.

“Ocean color satellites measure visible light,” Chaves said. “We must try to replicate what they measure.”

A scientist is standing under a plastic sheet that serves as a barrier for his experiment station in front of him. The experiment includes several containers of liquid and plastic tubing. — Chaves conducting field experiments and validation. Credit: NASA/Joaquin Chaves

In addition to the optical measurements, the NASA scientists also gathered water samples to measure the abundance of phytoplankton pigments and various forms of carbon.

By the end of the campaign, Chaves had collected 700 samples to process, which he is now analyzing back at Goddard.

Chaves and Smith were just two of the research cruise’s passengers, which also included 25 scientists based in the UK, Europe, Africa, and Latin America. Chaves said it was one of the best field campaigns he’s been on. The researchers connected with others and talked of future collaborations.

“It’s hard work,” he said. “It remains one of my best experiences at sea because of how modern the ship was, well trained the crew were and the officers are and willing to help.”

The AMT program, which started in 1995, allows researchers from all over the world to study the ocean’s biogeochemistry, ecology, and physical properties during voyages between the United Kingdom and the South Atlantic.

Learn more about the AMT cruise here.

Header image caption: A map of where the cruise travelled for six weeks in the Atlantic Ocean. Credit: NASA/Joaquin Chaves

By Sara Blumberg, NASA Oceans Communications Lead at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center

NASA’s PACE Spacecraft Assembled, Advances Toward Launch

Although PACE was formally authorized in 2015, its concept has been on the minds of NASA Earth scientists for over 21 years.

In 2023, that concept is now an assembled spacecraft at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

This past month, the PACE (Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem) mission advanced closer to launch, passing a critical review demonstrating final tests for its readiness for observatory integration and testing. PACE will continue preparations for its move to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, where it is scheduled to launch in January 2024.

“It’s an absolutely huge achievement for the team after having conceived the PACE system architecture, completed the design, implemented and built all the hardware and software systems,” said Mark Voyton, PACE’s Project Manager.

PACE’s solar array deploying in the Goddard cleanroom. Video by Denny Henry, NASA

Once in orbit, PACE will view the atmosphere and ocean surface from space. It will help scientists learn more about the relationships between phytoplankton and the surrounding environment by measuring how light reflects off the ocean and through the atmosphere.

Before any NASA mission can launch, however, it must go through a series of immersive reviews, called key decision points, to show it can operate in space. Getting to this moment has been a long time coming for the team.

Since its inception, PACE has faced many challenges. Last year, for example, one of PACE’s polarimeters, HARP2, experienced parts failures during testing, forcing the team to reevaluate several of its design concepts. Budget-wise, the mission also experienced hurdles related to the global Covid-19 pandemic.

Testing and moving the PACE spacecraft. Image by: Denny Henry, NASA

“It is somewhat difficult to wrap my head around being fewer than 300 days from launch. All the ideas and concepts from the past decade have been turned into reality! It’s been a long strange trip, but one we don’t regret pursuing,” said PACE lead scientist Jeremy Werdell.

PACE team members have remained busy in their preparations. Late last year, the team integrated all three of its scientific instruments onto the spacecraft, thus forming the PACE observatory. The mission most recently also completed testing the deployment of PACE’s solar array.

Next steps for the team will focus on final integration and testing activities at Goddard. This includes vibration and acoustics tests that simulate the launch environment, as well as several months of thermal vacuum tests that simulate the environment of space.

“Once these activities are complete, the observatory will be trucked to Kennedy for additional testing and integration onto the launch vehicle,” Werdell said.

Header image caption: PACE tech Jean Arnett is cleaning the Aronson table. The Aronson table is used to tilt the spacecraft over like in the photo below. Image by: Denny Henry, NASA

By Sara Blumberg, NASA Oceans Communications Lead at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center