NASA’s PACE Satellite: Seeing Pollution and Oceans in Unprecedented Detail

PACE delivers:

• Hyperspectral + polarimetric data together

• High revisit frequency

• Cross-domain insights

That combination is what enables breakthroughs like fine-scale NO₂ detection .

Exam-Ready Takeaways

• PACE = Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, Ocean Ecosystem

• Launched: Feb 2024 , Sun-synchronous orbit

• Core instrument: Ocean Color Instrument (OCI)

• Polarimeters: SPEXone + HARP2

• Key advancement: High-resolution NO₂ detection (source-level identification)

• Applications:

  • Air pollution monitoring

  • Ocean biology tracking

  • Climate system analysis