The Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment (ACE) is a satellite mission on board the Canadian satellite SCISAT that takes measurements of the Earth's atmosphere. Originally planned to have a two-year lifetime, ACE performs flawlessly 20 years on.
ACE uses Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy of sunlight during sunrise and sunset to determine the abundance of 46 atmospheric molecules associated with ozone depletion, air pollution, and climate change.
All these mission data products are produced in the Chemistry Department at the University of Waterloo at the ACE Science Operations Centre (SOC). The SOC analyzes the ACE infrared spectra and distributes their data products to hundreds of users around the world.
Dr. Peter Bernath is the Mission Scientist, which involves the collaboration of members from several universities, industries and other organizations in Canada and around the world. Funding for the ACE mission is primarily provided by the Canadian Space Agency.
With 46+ atmospheric molecules measured over 20 years, ACE stands as Canada's most successful scientific mission.
SCISAT was launched on August 12, 2003 and has been measuring data since February, 2004. The SCISAT mission originally had a 2-year lifetime, but has far exceeded that!
The most recent ACE-FTS dataset, v5.2, has over 20 years of atmospheric data for 46 molecules, plus isotopologues and line-of-sight winds.
SCISAT has orbited the Earth over 110,000 times!
News
ACE in the news: "ABB Technology Helps Make Scientific Discoveries from Space"
Recent scientific discoveries reported by the Canadian Space Agency expose a chemical process in the atmosphere through which intense wildfires contribute to ozone layer depletion. These discoveries have been made possible by ABB technology on board the SCISAT satellite.
Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment accepted as Water Institute member
The Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment has been accepted as a member of the University of Waterloo's Water Institute; ranked among the top water research institutions in the world.
Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment celebrates 20 year anniversary
2023 is the 20th year on orbit for the Canadian Space Agency’s Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment (ACE) satellite, which stands as Canada’s most successful scientific space mission. ACE was launched by NASA in August 2003 and continues to make daily measurements of atmospheric composition.
Events
50th ACE Science Meeting
The next ACE Science Meeting will be held as a hybrid in person and online meeting, at the University of Waterloo and via WebEx. This meeting will focus primarily on the achievements, current work, and future plans of the ACE (SCISAT) satellite mission. In addition to the usual speakers from ACE, speakers from other missions, space agencies, modelling groups, and validation teams are invited to participate. Potential new users of ACE data are particularly encouraged to attend.
Time: 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Place: University of Waterloo (Room DC-1304)
Online meeting via WebEx