NASA’s Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) observatory spacecraft has completed its journey from the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland to the Astrotech Spacecraft Operations facility near the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Engineers and technicians arrived ahead of the spacecraft to prepare ground equipment for offloading and processing before fueling and final encapsulation.

PACE is targeted to launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in early 2024 from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The mission will help clarify how the ocean and atmosphere exchange carbon dioxide, improve upon NASA’s 20-plus years of global satellite observations of ocean biology and atmospheric aerosols, and continue key measurements related to air quality and climate.

The PACE project is managed by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. The agency’s Launch Services Program, based at Kennedy Space Center, is responsible for managing launch service for the PACE mission. According to Science X’s editorial process and policies, this article has been fact-checked, sourced from trusted experts and proofread for accuracy.