Hey everybody, welcome back to the Elon Musk Podcast.
This is a show where we discuss the critical Crossroads, The
Shape, SpaceX, Tesla X, The Boring Company, and Neuralink,
and I'm your host, Will Walden. If you want uninterrupted
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show Notes Just recently, SpaceX successfully launched NASA's
Plankton Aerosol Cloud Ocean Ecosystem mission, also called
PACE, a nearly $1 billion Environmental Research
satellite. Now, this event took place early
on Thursday, despite previous threats to cancel the project.
We'll get into that a little bit later.
It's pretty juicy, and the mission's goal is to enhance our
understanding of climate change by studying the intricate
interactions among carbon aerosols and marine life on a
global scale. Now, Karen Saint Germain, the
director of NASA's Earth Sciences Division, said that
Pace's potential to revolutionize our comprehension
of aerosols, clouds, and the global energy balance is one of
the key factors for this mission.
She drew parallels between the significance of Pace's
contributions to oceanography and the James Webb Space
Telescope's contributions to cosmology, emphasizing the
mission's expected profound impact on our knowledge of
oceanic and terrestrial life right here on our planet Earth.
Now the mission faced delays due to adverse weather conditions,
but eventually launched from Cape Canaveral, marking a
significant achievement for SpaceX.
The Falconite's rocket liftoff was not only a visual spectacle
but also a technical milestone, achieving the first polar orbit
launch from the East Coast from the US government since 1960.
Huge deal in the spaceflight community.
Now, Pace's journey to the launchpad was fraught with
challenges. This is where we get a little
bit of juicy stuff here, including threats of
cancellation under the Trump administration.
However, persistent support from the scientific community and the
pushback from NASA and the pushback from the public as
well, ensured the project's continuation is noted by Jeremy
Werndell, PACE project scientist.
Now equipped with Advanced Instruments, the PACE satellite
aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the
interactions between the ocean, the atmosphere, and also the
land. This holistic approach is
crucial for unraveling the complexities of Earth's climate
system and addressing one of the most significant uncertainties
in climate modeling. The mission is expected to offer
a high precision data critical for refining computer models
used by policymakers, and this data will include real time
measurements of aerosol movement, plankton, health and
carbon transport, offering invaluable insights into climate
change dynamics. And NASA's officials under score
the importance of understanding the interactions between ocean
life and the atmosphere in addressing the climate crisis.
The PACE mission is set to provide crucial data on aerosols
and their role in cloud formation and weather systems,
shedding light on a key scientific mystery of our own
planet, Earth. Now with a total cost of $940
million, almost a billion dollars, the PACE mission
represents a significant investment in Earth observation
technology. It's successful deployment and
forthcoming scientific observations which will gather
data and will The data will be used for years, decades ahead.
It's expected to begin in about two months.
With that data collection. Now we're all waiting for this,
and the launch of PACE is part of NASA's broader effort to
utilize space based assets to study our own Mother Earth and
also the changing climate right here with us now.
This mission, along with others like the SWOT mission, aims to
revolutionize our understanding of Earth zone's oceans and their
role in the global climate system.
Now, NASA's commitment to addressing the climate crisis is
evident in its deployment In missions like PACE.
Efforts are vital for providing the global community with a lot
of data needed to make informed decisions about protecting our
planet and all the inhabitants, not only humans but also the
animals on our planet. Now, the record-breaking
temperatures of the past decade highlight the urgent need for
missions like PACE. By providing a better
understanding of carbon exchange between the ocean and the
atmosphere, NASA aims to enhance our ability to respond to
climate change. Aerosols, while small, play a
significant role in Earth's climate by influencing weather,
air quality and also the temperature.
The PACE missions detailed study of aerosols and improve our
understanding of their impact and help identify areas with
poor air quality. Now the oceans of our planet,
they cover about 70% of our surface.
They remain one of the least understood parts of our planet.
PACE aims to change this by offering unprecedented insights
into ocean biography and the intricate web of life that they
support. Now, Phytoplankton, despite
their microscopic size, are crucial for marine ecosystems
too, and also the global carbon cycle.
Pace's advanced instruments will allow scientists to study these
organisms in unparalleled detail, enhancing our
understanding of their role in Earth's biosphere.
And the mission's innovative tech will enable researchers to
differentiate among thousands of phytoplankton species, providing
new insights into marine biodiversity and its
implications for the food web, and also carbon sequestration.
Now, the changing conditions of the world's oceans, including
rising temperatures and alter nutrient distribution, pose
challenges for marine life. Pace's observations will
contribute to our understanding of how these changes are
affecting phytoplankton communities and by extension,
the entire marine ecosystem. And the successful launch of
PACE is a huge leap forward in our ability to monitor and
understand Earth's climate system.
By providing a more detailed picture of the interactions
between the atmosphere, oceans and also the land.
This mission will play a crucial role in addressing the
challenges posed by climate change.
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