New NASA mission to study Earth's oceans and climate successfully launched from Cape Canaveral
Kyiv • UNN
NASA's new PACE Earth observation satellite was successfully launched into orbit to study ocean conditions, air quality, and the effects of climate change.
A revolutionary new satellite has been launched to help better understand how the ocean and atmosphere exchange carbon dioxide.
This is reported by UNN with reference to the post of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in the X network.
Details
NASA's newest Earth observation satellite, PACE, has been launched into orbit. According to the agency , the spacecraft will help study ocean health, air quality, and the effects of climate change.
The mission data is expected to help better understand how the ocean and atmosphere exchange carbon dioxide. They will also show how aerosols can stimulate phytoplankton growth on the ocean surface.
What I'm most excited about is that PACE will deepen our understanding of how our oceans work and how they are connected to the broader Earth system
How the launch took place
A Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral today at 1:33 a.m. EDT (0633 GMT) after a several-day delay caused by bad weather.
Approximately 7.5 minutes after launch, the rocket's first stage returned for a vertical landing at Landing Zone 1, SpaceX's facility on the Cape. According to the SpaceX mission description, this was the fourth launch and landing for this launch vehicle.
Just five minutes later, the upper stage of the Falcon 9 launched PACE (whose name is an acronym for Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, Ocean Ecosystem) into solar-synchronous orbit (SSO) at an altitude of about 420 miles (677 kilometers) above the Earth.
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PACE specialists will work to bring the 10.5-foot-long (3.2 meters) spacecraft and its various subsystems up to the required speed. After this verification period, the satellite will be able to begin its scientific work.
Although PACE is designed for a three-year mission, it has enough fuel to stay in orbit and study the Earth for up to 10 years. The spacecraft will join a flotilla of more than two dozen NASA Earth observation missions circling our planet, collecting data on the oceans, land, ice and atmosphere.
Recall
In mid-January, SpaceX launched four astronauts to the ISS as part of the Axiom Space 3 (Ax-3) mission. The crew will join seven other astronauts already on the station and will conduct about 30 scientific experiments over the course of two weeks.
A small Chinese rocket has put nine satellites into orbit, and China may have a busy year for commercial space launches.
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