Good morning, friends. It’s your Space Coast correspondent James Sparvero.
How cool is this?!? The PACE (Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, Ocean Ecosystem) satellite is now sending back real-time data on the health of our oceans and air quality, and that unprecedented information is not exclusive to NASA scientists.
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I wrote to you ahead of PACE launching from the Cape in February, and I covered the launch itself. Then last week, mission leaders held a news conference to share some of that early data from the exciting work the satellite is now doing in space.
“PACE is giving an unprecedented view of the tiniest critters in the ocean, the tiniest particles in the atmosphere, but in both cases, they play an enormous role in aquaculture, in fisheries, in human health,” Earth science division director Dr. Karen St. Germain said.
And over the next decade, NASA says six more missions to help forecast the health of fishing grounds and track algae blooms will build off PACE.
“Up to the minute, real-time data on what is happening to the Earth as seen by our spacecraft,” administrator Bill Nelson said. “We’re trying to bring the understanding that this is a precious, precious planet.”
You can check out the database here.
📧 Email me if you have any space topics you’d like me to address.
👋 Here’s a little bit more about me.
Little did I know when watching Apollo 13 in the third grade that 20 years later, I was destined for a thrilling career as your Space Coast multimedia journalist.
Chemistry and biology weren’t so interesting to me in high school science, but I loved my Earth and Space class (Thanks, Mr. Lang).
Then in 2016, I traded Capitol correspondent in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, for space correspondent. I’m proud that my first live report at News 6 happened to be the first time SpaceX landed a Falcon 9 booster on a barge. What seems so routine now was a really big deal that day in our newsroom!
From there, I’ve covered the Commercial Crew program and the return of human spaceflight to Kennedy Space Center (Demo-2 launched on my 33rd birthday!)
Now, as our coverage looks forward to missions to the moon and Mars, I often tell others I have the best job in local news. Because after all I’ve seen so far, I think I would be bored working somewhere else. I even bought a house near the Cape with a great view to the north so I never miss a launch even when I’m not working.
After eight years on the beat, though, I still consider myself a young space reporter and I always look forward to learning something new with every assignment.
Have a great launch into the rest of your week!