Jason-3 Animation

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.

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

OSTM/Jason-2 Line Drawing

Jason-1: JMR instrument

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

Jason-1: TRSR instrument

Ice covers 10 percent of Earth's surface and helps moderate the planet's temperature.

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...

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

TOPEX/Poseidon launch

The Falcon 9 protective payload fairing containing the Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich satellite

The Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich satellite sits in front of a testing chamber where mission team members tested whether the spacecraft could endure the loud sounds it will encounter during launch.

TOPEX/Poseidon Ground Tracks

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 with the Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich satellite is lifted to vertical at Space Launch Complex 4

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

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...

Jason-3 3D Model

Our planet is changing. Our ocean is rising. And it affects us all. That’s why a new international satellite will continue the decades-long watch over our global ocean and help us better understand...

t - 10 minutes

The SpaceX Falcon 9 with the Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich satellite is lifted to vertical at Space Launch Complex 4

Early morning at the launch pad

SSH and SST - Global

TOPEX/Poseidon over Earth

SSH and SST - Pacific Ocean