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Polarimeters mounted on the PACE observatory in a Goddard Space Flight Center clean room. Left: HARP2 polarimeter. Right: SPEXone polarimeter. Credit: NASA.

The PACE (Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem) mission will continue and improve NASA's 20-year record of satellite observations of global ocean biology, aerosols, and clouds. PACE will help us better understand how the ocean and atmosphere exchange carbon dioxide, measure key atmospheric variables associated with air quality and Earth's climate, and monitor ocean health, in part by studying phytoplankton, tiny plants and algae that sustain the marine food web.

Two polarimeters – HARP2 and SPEXOne – on the PACE mission are a proof of concept for technology that will be on AOS-Sky. PACE's polarimeters also help advance the algorithms that will be used to analyze the AOS data.

Learn more:
HARP2
SPEXone
NASA PACE Mission