‘Remarkable new data’: NASA launching new PACE satellite to collect more precise weather, climate data

NASA gearing up to launch new satellite

NASA is preparing to launch its new PACE satellite after taking nearly two decades to perfect.

NASA is gearing up for its upcoming mission focused on tracking the climate and even helping save sea cows.

The new payload is called PACE which stands for Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, and Ocean Ecosystem. It will launch off the Space Coast later this month.

On Wednesday, the high-tech tool was in a clean room at Astrotech in Titusville before being taken out to the launchpad, and FOX 35 saw a behind-the-scenes look at the satellite engineers created.

The PACE mission is made up of 3 different instruments and took scientists nearly two decades to perfect.

"It’s going to be great to finally get this mission into space and start getting the huge volume of remarkable new data that we’ve never had before," said Brian Cairns who’s a deputy project scientist with the mission.

The data they collect will help us here in central Florida when it comes to saving manatees because the mission will help scientists see what areas are able to grow seagrass.

"We really hope to be able to support not only the teeny tiny life in the ocean but also big and beautiful ones such as manatees," said Ivona Cetinic who’s a phytoplankton ecologist focused on studying marine life in the project.

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Scientists will see entire images of the globe every two days, and that’s a big deal when it comes to getting ahead of harmful algal blooms.

"We can know early on if there’s a bad bloom coming, so you can prevent deaths, prevent loss of money and things like that. PACE is going to be able to differentiate bad guys from the good guys," she added.

It will also help support more precise air quality forecasts. One of the instruments collects light and analyzes the unique colors of the ocean.

"Because this ocean and color instrument gives you all of the colors of light, that tells you how you high particles are in the atmosphere. You know how high smoke or pollution is, and that’s critical for air quality," said Cairns.

All the data they collect will be available to the public. Cetinic hopes local leaders will tap into the new technology and "work in a better way to protect and conserve their ecosystem."

This mission is set to launch in January, and NASA says it will collect data for at least three years.