Sentinel-6/Jason-CS is a satellite mission developed jointly by NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) to continue the long-term measurement of sea level change from space started in 1992 by Topex/Poseidon and continued by Jason-1, OSTM/Jason-2, and Jason-3. The mission will improve our understanding of how global sea level changes in response to climate warming and provide essential data for developing adaptation strategies to protect coastal communities worldwide.
The Sentinel-6/Jason-CS spacecraft consists of two identical satellites, Sentinel-6A and -6B, that will be launched 5 years apart to ensure continuity of measurements. Each satellite carries a sophisticated radar altimeter that precisely measures the height of the ocean surface relative to the center of the Earth with an accuracy of better than 2 cm. The mission also carries a microwave radiometer that corrects for atmospheric effects on the altimeter measurements and provides information on atmospheric water vapor content. These measurements will be used to determine global mean sea level with an accuracy of better than 3 mm per year – more accurate than any previous mission.
In addition to providing essential data for understanding and adapting to climate change, the Sentinel-6 mission has many other applications including: weather forecasting, ocean circulation studies, monitoring ice sheets and glaciers, studying coral reefs and coastal ecosystems, search and rescue operations, and maritime navigation.
The first satellite in the mission, Sentinel-6A, is scheduled for launch in November 2020 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.