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PACE 500 Days

In 500 days, the PACE satellite:

• Used satellite data on plant colors (such as green from chlorophyll and other leaf pigments). The colored areas showed places where plants changed in similar ways during the seasons.
• Observed how much water droplet sizes in the atmosphere vary at a detailed scale of 5.2 km. This new discovery is helping scientists learn more about how clouds work, how they make rain, how they interact with tiny particles in the air, and how they affect Earth’s energy balance.
• Measured nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) from space at higher detail using a neural network trained with data from the European Sentinel-5 satellite (TROPOMI). By tracking smaller NO₂ sources like cars and power plants more clearly, PACE can help monitor local air quality and improve regional air pollution models.
• Captured images that provided 5–10 times more data than any previous dataset. This helps scientists predict how tiny ocean plants affect the oceans and the global economy.

Members of the PACE team celebrating 500 days in orbit with cake. Credit: UMBC

To commemorate the milestone, mission partners came together at UMBC last month to give thanks and highlight the importance of studying our home planet.

“Our research is helping us better understand our planet for future generations," said Valerie Sheares Ashby, president of UMBC. “This is a special partnership.”

It's estimated that 3,000 scientists around the world are using PACE data to improve their communities.

UMBC President Valerie Sheares Ashby talking about the special partnership of the PACE mission. Credit: UMBC

“It’s been a lot of blood, sweat and tears to make it to this point,” said PACE project scientist Jeremy Werdell, “What we’ve accomplished in the first 500 days is really remarkable and shows the true teamwork we enjoy with one another.”

During the satellite’s construction, UMBC helped build the HARP2 instrument, while SRON, based in the Netherlands, built SPEXone.

PACE members hold poster session to discuss mission breakthroughs. Credit: UMBC

In the next 500 days, team members are excited to see what PACE might unlock.

“Surprise me,” Werdell said. “Let’s see what PACE can really do.”

To help spur that process, PACE recently held its second annual Hack Week at UMBC. More than 40 students and career scientists participated, with the goal of deepening their knowledge of satellite data. Read more here.