SSAI PACE Satellite Mission Employees Honored with NASA Achievement Awards
Leland Chemerys, a Science Systems and Applications, Inc (SSAI) PACE (NASA’s Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) satellite mission) Ocean Color Instrument (OCI) Systems Engineer, was awarded a NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration Agency Outstanding Public Leadership Medal for his support of OCI, which is PACE’s main instrument. Also, the PACE OCI Team received a Group Achievement Award.
NASA’s PACE mission conducts satellite observations of global ocean biology; aerosols, which are tiny particles in the atmosphere; and clouds. PACE accesses the health of the world’s oceans by measuring the distribution of phytoplankton, which are tiny plants and algae that sustain marine food systems. PACE also studies main aspects of the atmosphere associated with air quality and Earth’s climate.
The OCI is a highly-advanced optical device that is used to measure properties of light in portions of Earth’s electromagnetic spectrum. Data about ocean colors are essential to climate studies. The color of the ocean is determined by the interaction of sunlight with substances present in seawater, such as chlorophyll, which is found in most phytoplankton species. By monitoring these areas, the OCI helps to understand the diverse systems that drive ocean ecology. The OCI was built at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) in Greenbelt, Maryland.
Pictured in the photo below, top, are Leland Chemerys, left, and his wife Amber.
In the second picture below is the PACE OCI team being honored with a Group Achievement Award. From the left to right are Dr. Makenzie Lystrup, NASA GSFC Director; Michelle Smith, PACE OCI Business Manager; Robby Estep, PACE OCI Instrument Manager; Dustyn Strosnider, SSAI Program Manager & PACE OCI Deputy Instrument Manager; and Leland Chemerys.