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PACE Celebrates Earth Day with all #NASAEarthlings

Posted on Tuesday, April 26, 2022 at 12:00:00

NASA's PACE mission inspires us to be better stewards of our planet, especially the ocean. For Earth Day, we continued that practice by participating in NASA's annual Earth Day event at Union Station in Washington, DC.

Earth Day 2022
NASA Science Art Director Jenny Mottar explains the inspiration behind the 2022 NASA Earth Day poster.

For the first time in two years, NASA hosted the three day interactive with a mix of stations set up to show how the agency studies a changing Earth. PACE volunteered to show how our mission will further help in this cause.

A group from Goddard Space Flight Center's Ocean Ecology Lab and PACE engaged the public.
A group from Goddard Space Flight Center's Ocean Ecology Lab and PACE engaged the public with hands-on activities and conversations at Union Station as part of NASA's Earth Day events.

The PACE booth featured eight team members, including scientists, engineers and managers, who talked about everything from phytoplankton to how the spacecraft is being built.

In one experiment, members asked attendees a simple question, "what color is the ocean?" While the common answer was blue, our interactives taught them it can be many colors. Attendees also got to spin a phytoplankton wheel to learn more about how these microscopic creatures help us understand the carbon cycle.

PACE researchers Aimee Neeley and Inia Soto-Ramos talk to attendees about the mission.
PACE researchers Aimee Neeley and Inia Soto-Ramos talk to attendees about the mission.

PACE also participated in an art demonstration about zooplankton. Through letterpress - a technique of relief printing - attendees got to take home a postcard featuring art inspired by the mission's research.

PACE researcher Ivona Cetinić makes a letterpress print of zooplankton.
PACE researcher Ivona Cetinić makes a letterpress print of zooplankton.

The theme for this year's Earth Day was #NASAEarthling, a simple hashtag to show off what makes life on our planet truly special - you. NASA's Science Mission Directorate also has revealed the 2022 Earth Day poster, available to download in English and Spanish from an online toolkit that also includes wallpapers and a special video from its creative director.

Want to learn more? Go to www.nasa.gov/earthday.

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All photos by Sara Blumberg.
Attendees took in a look at a giant Earth.
Attendees took in a look at a giant Earth.
PACE Communications Director Sara Blumberg takes a selfie at the Earth Day event.
PACE Communications Director Sara Blumberg takes a selfie at the Earth Day event.
PACE and letterpress artist Lauren Emeritz created custom Earth Day postcards for Earth Day.
PACE and letterpress artist Lauren Emeritz created custom Earth Day postcards for Earth Day.
PACE Deputy Manager Juli Lander talks about the mission’s launch date.
PACE Deputy Manager Juli Lander talks about the mission’s launch date.
PACE members Ivona Cetinić and Juli lander explain the different phytoplankton that exist.
PACE members Ivona Cetinić and Juli lander explain the different phytoplankton that exist.
PACE members Emerson Sisk and Zakk Rhodes talk with attendees about PACE and the spacecraft build.
PACE members Emerson Sisk and Zakk Rhodes talk with attendees about PACE and the spacecraft build.
Engineer Zakk Rhodes talks ocean color with attendees.
Engineer Zakk Rhodes talks ocean color with attendees.
PACE researchers Aimee Neeley and Inia Soto-Ramos talk to attendees about the mission.
PACE researchers Aimee Neeley and Inia Soto-Ramos talk to attendees about the mission.