CAPE CANAVERAL SPACE FORCE — Early Thursday morning, SpaceX successfully launched NASA’s PACE mission, which will better understand Earth’s oceans and atmosphere.

The PACE spacecraft was launched from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 1:33 a.m. ET, from SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, confirmed the company.

Going into the black

The Falcon 9 rocket’s first-stage booster, B1081, is quite new to the launching game and only has three launches under its belt, not including the three-year PACE mission.

• Crew-7
• CRS-29
• Starlink mission 6-34

After the stage separation, the first stage of the Falcon 9 rocket landed on Landing Zone 1 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Many heard the sonic boom from the returning spacecraft.

A few delays

The PACE mission suffered some launch delays, all due to weather. It was originally supposed to launch Tuesday and then on Wednesday, both at 1:33 a.m. ET.

But for Thursday’s launch, the SpaceX stated that weather conditions were 95% favorable for liftoff.

Go here to learn about NASA’s launch weather criteria for the Falcon 9 rocket.

Keeping PACE with the mission

The official name for the mission is called Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem. Shortened to PACE, the spacecraft is designed to study both Earth’s oceans and its atmosphere.

“PACE will advance the assessment of ocean health by measuring the distribution of phytoplankton, tiny plants and algae that sustain the marine food web. It will also continue systematic records of key atmospheric variables associated with air quality and Earth's climate,” NASA explained.

Dr. Karen St. Germain, the division director of NASA’s Earth Science Division, spoke about the highlights of the mission at a prelaunch press conference on Monday morning.

“PACE will be the most advanced mission we’ve ever launched to study ocean biology,” she said, adding, “I like to say that PACE is a mission that will use that unique vantage point of space to study the smallest things that have the biggest impact.”

The spacecraft will also continue systematic records of key atmospheric variables associated with air quality and Earth's climate.

“The ocean and atmosphere are directly connected, moving and transferring energy, water, nutrients, gases, aerosols (these are tiny particles suspended in the atmosphere), and pollutants," NASA stated. "Aerosols, clouds and phytoplankton can also affect one another. For example, certain aerosols may contribute to plankton blooms, while some plankton produce substances that act as seeds for cloud formation. How aerosols influence the ocean ecosystem — and vice versa — are key questions PACE scientists plan to investigate by looking at a broader picture of ocean and atmosphere interactions. These complex relationships are part of the larger climate system, and thus, it is advantageous to study them together.” 

According to the space agency, results of the PACE mission will benefit a wide variety of fields, such as natural resource managers who focus on human health, commercial fishing and disaster management. It also will help researchers in the fields of ocean biology, ecology, biogeochemistry and more.

Government agencies that manage fisheries and determine human health, businesses that focus on environmental technology and development, the general public, lawmakers and economists from local to international levels also can obtain important information from the mission.