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Ocean Surface Topography from Space

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slide 1 - The Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich satellite launches on a SpaceX Falcon 9 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

US-European Mission Launches to Monitor the World's Oceans

Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich, the world's latest sea level satellite, is in orbit and ready to begin taking critical ocean measurements for the next five-and-a-half years. Full Story ›

slide 2 - altimetry satellite family

Three Decades of Sea Level Rise

Since 1992, NASA and its partners have tracked global sea levels with satellite altimeter missions. Show Data ›

slide 3 - Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich illustration

5 Things to Know About Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich

This Earth-observing satellite will closely monitor sea level and provide atmospheric data to support weather forecasting and climate models.

Latest El Niño/La Niña Watch Data

Stereographic image depicting el nino data

The latest image from NASA's Jason satellite is updated approximately every 15 days.

More to Explore

Global Mean Sea Level Time Series

Data collected from a series of satellite altimeters have measured a rise in global mean sea level (GMSL) of ∼3 ± 0.4 mm/year, resulting in more than 7 cm of total sea-level rise over the last 25 years.
Along-Track Near Real-Time Data

Sea Surface Height Anomaly: SARAL and Jason-3 Measurements from 24-Nov-2020 to 04-Dec-2020
OST Science Team

Updates on the latest research being completed by the team of international and interdisciplinary scientists.

Applications: Bringing Satellite Data Down to Earth

Since 1993 ocean altimetry data has provided researchers and operational users like NOAA’s extreme weather units with valuable data

Climate

Climate

Operational

Operational

Coastal

Coastal

Climate

Operational

Coastal

News & Features

With NASA's Eyes on the Earth web-based app, you can tag along with the U.S.-European satellite as it orbits the globe, gathering critical measurements of our changing planet.

Sentinal-6 in Eyes

Follow Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich in Real Time As It Orbits Earth

To get the best measurements of Earth's atmosphere, you sometimes have to leave it. This November, the Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich spacecraft will do just that.

Sentinel-6 satellite undergoing testing

Sea Level Mission Will Also Act as a Precision Thermometer in Space

Scientists have gained new insights into the processes that have driven ocean level variations for over a century, helping us prepare for the rising seas of the future.

Causes of Sea Level Rise

NASA-led Study Reveals the Causes of Sea Level Rise Since 1900

The Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich satellite mission will add to a long-term sea level dataset that's become the gold standard for climate studies from orbit.

Keeping a Steady Eye on Sea Level Change from Space

Keeping a Steady Eye on Sea Level Change from Space

A team of engineers in the U.S. and Europe subjected the Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich spacecraft to a battery of trials to ready it for liftoff later this year.

New International Ocean Satellite Completes Testing

New International Ocean Satellite Completes Testing

Observations from 11 satellite missions monitoring the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets have revealed that the regions are losing ice six times faster than they were in the 1990s.

Greenland, Antarctica melting six times faster than in the 1990s

Greenland, Antarctica melting six times faster than in the 1990s

The joint U.S.-European mission to study the effects of global warming on the oceans, has a new name to honor NASA's Michael Freilich.

NASA, Partners Name Ocean Studying Satellite for Noted Earth Scientist

NASA, Partners Name Ocean Studying Satellite for Noted Earth Scientist

The Jason-CS/Sentinel-6 mission will track sea level rise for the next 10 years.

Earth Mission to Track Oceans Into 2030

Earth Mission to Track Oceans Into 2030

OSTM/Jason-2 successfully ended its science mission on Oct. 1.

Ocean-Monitoring Satellite Mission Ends

Ocean-Monitoring Satellite Mission Ends

Why Study the Ocean

Only from space can we observe the height of our vast ocean on a global scale and monitor critical changes in ocean currents and heat storage. Continuous data from satellites like TOPEX/Poseidon, Jason-1, OSTM/Jason-2, and Jason-3 help us understand and foresee the effects of the changing oceans on our climate and on catastrophic climate events such as El Niño and La Niña.

Partners

Partners

In an environment of constrained resources, U.S. and international partnerships are necessary to gain as much understanding of our planet as possible. Not only do they do they reduce costs for NASA, they also engage a larger and more diverse group of scientists.