The Ocean Surface Topography Mission on the Jason-2 satellite (OSTM/Jason-2) will be a follow-on to the Jason mission. It is scheduled to launch on June 15 2008.[1]
Joint effort
OSTM is a joint effort by four organizations to measure sea surface height by using a radar altimeter mounted on a low-earth orbiting satellite called Jason-2.[2] The four mission participants are:
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
- France’s Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (CNES)
- European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT)
Value of prior similar missions
Two previous missions have provided high-accuracy ocean altimetry data. The first, TOPEX/Poseidon, was launched in August 1992. The second, Jason 1, was launched in December 2001. These two prior missions lead to major advances in both the science of physical oceanography and in the use of ocean altimetry data to make short-term predictions that are valuable in a variety of applications.[3]
