CHARLOTTE, N.C. — April 22 is Earth Day, a time to celebrate the beauty of our planet and raise awareness on ways to protect Earth.
With more than 70% of our planet covered by water, NASA is focusing on ocean science this Earth Day.
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On this Earth Day, NASA is providing an update on one of its newest satellites. PACE, a NASA satellite launched earlier this year, stands for "Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, and Ocean Ecosystems" satellite.
The PACE mission also tracks small particles, such as smoke from wildfires, and the effects that could have on people in the long run.
“Smaller particles when we ingest into our lungs, they can actually cause health issues," PACE Ocean Scientist Dr. Amir Ibrahim said. "Learning about them, monitoring them, having the ability to predict where they are going to go, and having the ability to warn when they are going to appear is really important and the PACE mission will allow us to do that.”
Ibrahim explained how PACE allows NASA scientists to take a deep dive into the ocean’s health, from the atmosphere down to the surface of the ocean.
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