A nearly billion-dollar project to explore the Earth’s atmosphere and seas is prepared for launch, having withstood multiple attempts at cancellation earlier in its development.

On February 6 at 1:33 a.m. Eastern, a Falcon 9 is expected to take off from Space Launch Complex 40 in Cape Canaveral. The spacecraft will launch NASA’s Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, Ocean Ecosystem, or PACE, spacecraft into sun-synchronous orbit.

PACE is equipped with three equipment that are intended to investigate clouds, aerosols in the atmosphere, and the ocean. The main sensor, the Ocean Color sensor (OCI), will give data on ocean color at ultraviolet and infrared wavelengths. Alongside it are the Hyper Angular Research Polarimeter (HARP2) and the Spectro-polarimeter for Planetary Exploration (SPEXone), which will help with atmospheric adjustment of OCI data and offer information on clouds and pollutants in the atmosphere.

“PACE will significantly enhance our comprehension of the functioning of our oceans and their connection to the Earth system and climate change,” stated Karen St. Germain, NASA’s Earth science division director, at a briefing on the project on February 4.

PACE will have phytoplankton research at the ocean’s surface as a major focus. PACE project scientist Jeremy Werdell stated that one aspect of this is the ability to distinguish between different types of phytoplankton. “We will now be aware of the locations of the beneficial ones, their migration, and the harmful ones.”

Data from other Earth science missions, such the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) spacecraft, will be added to the PACE data set by scientists. “SWOT provides additional information about ocean movement, including sea level. PACE will provide us with data on the organisms that inhabit those oceans’ surface, according to NASA Chief Scientist and Senior Climate Advisor Kate Calvin.

PACE data will also be useful in tracking various aerosol types in the atmosphere, including smoke, dust from the desert, and sea spray. This is helpful for keeping an eye on cloud formation, interactions between the atmosphere and environment, and the effects of air quality on human health. According to Andy Sayer, a PACE atmospheric scientist, “space is the only way you can possibly do this because it’s so dynamic.”

PACE is intended to last three years, but NASA anticipates a lengthier mission, according to St. Germain, as the 1,700-kilogram spacecraft has enough propellant and other consumables to live at least ten years. “We hope PACE has a long and happy life.”

Werdell stated at a previous briefing on January 17 that PACE would undergo a commissioning period that is anticipated to last 60 days after launch, with the publication of “first light” data following 40 to 50 days. The scientists team of the mission will not have any exclusivity term to any of the PACE data.

PACE, which had a $964 million total cost including reserves, was targeted for budget cuts early in the Trump administration’s development. It attempted to terminate PACE in each of its four NASA budget proposals for the fiscal years 2018 through 2021. Each of the four occasions, Congress overruled the reduction and gave the mission more funds.

“It has been a long, strange trip,” Werdell said at the Feb. 4 briefing when asked about those proposed cancellations. “We were as confident as one could be that we would find ways to persevere. The community wanted all of this.”

“One of the reasons we’re sitting here today is because there were many in our stakeholder community who understood the potential impact of PACE and supported us moving forward,” said St. Germain.