In September 2024, the PACE-PAX field campaign was held in southern and central California. PACE-PAX (Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem - Postlaunch Airborne eXperiment) is a validation campaign, using two planes and one ship and precise timing, to acquire data that the researchers can compare with that from the PACE satellite's overpasses. As stated in this NASA Scientific Visualization Studio (SVS) feature, "PACE Scientists Take to the Sea and Air (and Really High Air)," "... getting the different airplanes or ships in the same location and place as the satellites are flying over, it's really complex."
Ivona Cetinić (616/MSU), Deputy Mission Scientist with PACE-PAX, was interviewed for this SVS item while onboard the Research Vessel (R/V) Shearwater, where the researchers were examining plankton and capturing data in situ, which they will compare with measurements from PACE.