Jason-1 Spacecraft Animation

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

Our World: How High is the Ocean?

OSTM/Jason-2 Line Drawing

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

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

Sea level rise is an indicator that our planet is warming. When ice on land, such as mountain glaciers or the ice sheets of Greenland or Antarctica, melts, that water contributes to sea level rise.

SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, topped with the Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich satellite secured inside its payload fairing, is rolled to Space Launch Complex 4

t - 7 minutes - Photo: Tom Shain

Jason-1 Artists Concept

QuickTime VR of TOPEX/Poseidon

Greenland and Antarctica are home to most of the world's glacial ice – including its only two ice sheets – making them areas of particular interest to scientists.

TOPEX/Poseidon over Earth

This illustration shows the Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich spacecraft in orbit above Earth with its deployable solar panels extended.

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

For NASA JPL engineer Parag Vaze, studying Earth’s rising ocean has been a career three decades in the making.

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich spacecraft lifts off from Space Launch Complex 4 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, Nov. 21, 2020, at 9:17 a.m. PST

The Jason-2 satellite sees something brewing in the Pacific. Researchers say it could be a significant El Niño with implications for global weather and climate.

Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich will join a long-standing family of Earth observing satellites from NASA and European partners.

The Jason-3 satellite, launched on January 17, 2016, is allowing scientists to continue a 23-year record of crucial ocean monitoring.

TOPEX/Poseidon Ground Tracks

High Resolution Jason-1 launch images

TOPEX/Poseidon Poster (no text)

OSTM/Jason-2 - All instruments plus data animation

Sea levels across the globe are rising as a result of a changing climate — and the rate at which they are rising is accelerating. NASA Science Live was recorded Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2020, and featured...

Sea Level Isn't Level - Why it matters