NASA’s PAC3 Meeting Reviews First Year of PACE Mission and Outlines Future Plans

USA: NASA’s PAC3 Meeting Review

The PAC3 meeting took place from February 18‑21 2025 at NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York City, gathering more than 100 in‑person and virtual participants to assess the status of the Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) mission one year after launch.

Mission Overview

PACE, launched in February 2024, aims to improve understanding of ocean and terrestrial productivity, harmful algal blooms, aerosol‑cloud interactions, and related Earth‑system processes through three complementary instruments: the Ocean Color Instrument (OCI), the Hyper‑Angular Rainbow Polarimeter #2 (HARP2), and the Spectropolarimeter for Planetary Exploration (SPEXone).

Instrument Performance Updates

OCI has surpassed radiometric performance requirements, delivering highly accurate hyperspectral data. Version 3 reprocessing now relies solely on on‑orbit solar‑diffuser measurements, enhancing temporal stability and correcting ultraviolet‑range diffuser degradation, striping near a 10° scan angle, and reduced accuracy in the 590‑610 nm region.

SPEXone is providing quality radiometric and polarimetric observations. The team reported successful operation of the RemoTAP aerosol‑retrieval algorithm, which yields total aerosol column, size‑distribution, energy absorption, and vertical extent, with minimal bias compared to AERONET ground‑based measurements. Future updates will address radiometric calibration differences with OCI.

HARP2 continues to deliver polarization‑sensitive measurements of aerosols and clouds. Ongoing work focuses on refining geolocation, calibration, and cross‑calibration with OCI and SPEXone to harmonize the full suite of PACE radiometric products.

Data Access and Community Resources

The Ocean Biology Distributed Active Archive Center (OB.DAAC) now supports streamlined data retrieval via Earthdata Search and the earthaccess Python library, complemented by tutorials and training materials. The PACE Data Website serves as a central hub for datasets, reprocessing information, and product tutorials, with the Version 3 landing page detailing calibration updates and validation results.

International Collaboration with EarthCARE

Representatives from the Earth Clouds, Aerosols, and Radiation Explorer (EarthCARE) mission highlighted synergistic observations that complement PACE data. Validation activities conducted during the PACE‑PAX airborne campaign also support EarthCARE, while EarthCARE‑funded flights have collected data during PACE overpasses, fostering cross‑mission calibration and scientific integration.

Dieser Bericht basiert auf Informationen von NASA, lizenziert unter Public Domain (U.S. Government Work).