Jason-1 Spacecraft Animation

Growing up in landlocked Zimbabwe, NASA JPL engineer Shailen Desai was far from the ocean but still experienced its effects on the climate. Now, he is contributing to an international effort to tra...

This animation illustrates the evolution of sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies (relative to the respective normal state) in the Pacific Ocean associated with the 2015-2016 El Niño.

Jason-1 launch images

A key ocean observation satellite has been named after Earth scientist Michael Freilich

Jason-1: JMR instrument

This artist's concept shows Jason-3 over the California coast.

TOPEX/Poseidon launch

Jason-1 readies for launch in its bay at Vandenberg, AFB (10/31/01)

Earth’s rising seas are some of the most visible signs of our warming planet. Over the last 23 years, NASA satellite missions have observed a steady rise in global sea levels as polar ice sheets me...

SSH and SST - Pacific Ocean

This artist's concept show Jason-3 over France.

B-roll for media. The Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich is an Earth-observing satellite that will collect data on sea level and how it changes over time. By measuring sea surface height, scientists world...

Jason-3 Lifts Off!

It's hard to "see" sea level rise by just looking at the ocean, but its effects are very real.

These photos were taken during the Payload Attach Fitting (PAF) mating operation with Jason-1. (11/14/01) Photos: Scott Michel

Launch preparations are progressing! (11/21/01) Photos: Stacy Mitchell of John Hopkins APL/TIMED project

Watching Our Oceans

TOPEX/Poseidon Instruments

SSH and SST - Indian Ocean

Jason-3 Launch

This visualization shows total sea level change between 1992 and 2019, based on data collected from the TOPEX/Poseidon, Jason-1, Jason-2, and Jason-3 satellites. Blue regions are where sea level ha...

To provide scientists with essential information about global and regional changes in the seas, NASA will launch the Jason-3 satellite from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

TOPEX/Poseidon Ground Tracks

t - 12 minutes

High Resolution Jason-1 launch images