The joint NASA/Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales Topex/Poseidon oceanography satellite ceased operations after nearly 62,000 orbits of Earth. The spacecraft lost its ability to maneuver, bringing to a close a successful 13-year mission. Topex/Poseidon data have helped in hurricane and El Nino/La Nina forecasting, ocean and climate research, ship routing, offshore industries, fisheries management, marine mammals' research, modernizing global tide models and ocean debris tracking. The satellite's pitch reaction wheel, which helps keep the spacecraft in its proper orbital orientation, stalled on October 9, and ground controllers concluded the wheel was not functioning. The satellite remains in orbit 1,336 kilometers (830 miles) above the Earth, posing no threat to the planet. Topex/Poseidon's data have been the subject of more than 2,100 research publications; major science and application achievements include: - the first decade-long global descriptions of seasonal and yearly ocean current changes - refined scientists' estimates of rising global sea level during the past decade - provided a new understanding of the role tides play in mixing the deep ocean - developed the most accurate ever global ocean tides' models - provided the first global data set to test ocean general circulation model performance - demonstrated global positioning system measurements in space could determine spacecraft positions with unprecedented accuracy, enabling rapid delivery of data. Jason, a follow-on oceanography mission launched in December 2001, is continuing Topex/Poseidon's study of ocean circulation affects on the Earth's climate. Jason precisely maps the surface height, wind speed and wave height of 95 percent of Earth's ice-free oceans every 10 days. The data provide invaluable input for short-term weather forecasting, long-term climate forecasting and prediction models. Topex/Poseidon's stellar performance allowed it to fly in tandem with Jason for nearly three years, doubling data collection. This allowed the study of smaller-scale ocean phenomena like coastal tides, ocean eddies and currents. It also improved understanding of how low-frequency ocean waves transmit signals of climate change. Beyond Jason, the Ocean Surface Topography Mission is in development for a scheduled launch in 2008. It will continue providing high-precision sea surface height data to the oceanographic science community. The joint effort had its genesis in 1979, when NASA began developing the Topex mission, while the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales was planning a similar one called Poseidon. The agencies formed a single mission in 1983, and it was launched August 10, 1992. JPL manages the U.S. portion of Topex/Poseidon/Jason for NASA's Science Mission Directorate. Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales manages the French portion of both missions.

it was my first animation. it's a simulation of "Topex Poseidon" satellite launching. it was created and animated with 3DSMax.

15 years of filtered sea surface height anomaly (in mm) from merged TOPEX/Poseidon and Jason-1 datasets ranging from january 1993 to december 2007. On the left the seasonal cycle and on the right supposedly westward propagating Rossby waves. Note the Tropical Atlantic Dipole visible on the seasonal data. Music 'Nice E' by Duncan Beattie.

The Ocean Surface Topography Mission (OSTM)/Jason-2 is an international satellite mission that will extend into the next decade the continuous climate record of sea surface height measurements begun in 1992 by the joint NASA/Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES) Topex/Poseidon mission and continued in 2001 by the NASA/CNES Jason-1 mission. This multi-decadal record has already helped scientists study global sea level rise and better understand how ocean circula-tion and climate change are related. Developed and proven through the joint efforts of NASA and CNES, high-precision ocean altimetry measures the distance between a satellite and the ocean surface to within a few centimeters. Accurate observations of variations in sea surface height—also known as ocean topography—provide scientists with information about the speed and direction of ocean currents and heat stored in the ocean. This information, in turn, reveals global climate variations. With OSTM/Jason-2, ocean altimetry has come of age. The mission will serve as a bridge to transition collection of these measurements to the world's weather and climate forecasting agencies, which will use them for short- and seasonal-to-long-range weather and climate forecasting. Sea level rise is one of the most important consequences and indicators of global climate change. From Topex/Poseidon and Jason-1 we know mean sea level has risen by about three millimeters a year since 1993. This is about twice the estimates from tide gauges for the previous century, indicating a possible recent acceleration. OSTM/Jason-2 will further monitor this trend and allow us to better understand year-to-year variations. The speedup of ice melting in Greenland and Antarctica is a wild card in predicting future sea level rise. Measurements from Jason-1 and OSTM/Jason-2, coupled with information from NASA's Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (Grace) mission, will provide crucial information on the relative contributions of glacier melting and ocean heating to sea level change. Earth's oceans are a thermostat for our planet, keeping it from heating up quickly. More than 80 percent of the heat from global warming over the past 50 years has been absorbed by the oceans. Scientists want to know how much more heat the oceans can absorb, and how the warmer water affects Earth's atmosphere. OSTM/Jason-2 will help them better calculate the oceans' ability to store heat. The mission will also allow us to better understand large-scale climate phenomena like El Niño and La Niña, which can have wide-reaching effects. OSTM/Jason-2 data will be used in applications as diverse as, for example, routing ships, improving the safety and efficiency of offshore industry operations, managing fisheries, forecast-ing hurricanes and monitoring river and lake levels. OSTM/Jason-2's primary payload includes five instruments similar to those aboard Jason-1, along with three experimental instruments. Its main instrument is an altimeter that precisely measures the distance from the satellite to the ocean surface. Its radiometer measures the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere, which can distort the altimeter measurements. Three location systems combine to measure the satellite's precise position in orbit. Instrument advances since Jason-1 will allow scientists to monitor the ocean in coastal regions with increased accuracy, almost 50 percent closer to coastlines that are home to nearly half of Earth's population than before. OSTM/Jason-2 is designed to last at least three years. After its launch from California's Vandenberg Air Force Base aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket, OSTM/Jason-2 will be placed in the same orbit (1,336 kilometers) as Jason-1 at an inclination of 66 degrees to the equator. It will repeat its ground track every 10 days, covering 95 percent of the world's ice-free oceans. A tandem mission with Jason-1 will further improve tide models in coastal and shallow seas and help scientists better understand the dynamics of ocean currents and eddies.

15 years of sea surface height anomaly (in mm) from merged TOPEX/Poseidon and Jason-1 datasets ranging from january 1993 to december 2007. Note the persistent structures like the western boundary currents (Kuroshio, Gulf, Brazil-Malvinas confluence, East-Australian) and the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. Look at the great oceanic gyres. See the discrete seasonal change between the northern and the southern hemispheres. Watch the massive effect of the 1997 El Niño and 1998 La Niña over the surface height. Note especially the westward propagating slow Rossby waves and the faster reflected Kelvin waves, object of my study. Finally if you look carefully, notice how the sea surface tends to become more and more red over the years, which means the ocean level is rising. Music 'Remember The Name' courtesy of Inki

A prelaunch webcast by NASA regarding the OTSM/Jason-2 mission. Source- http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/podcasting/earth_index.html

A video by JPL regarding the OTSM (Ocean Surface Topography Mission)/Jason 2 project. Date- 20th May 08 source- http://www-a.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/

视频来自：EUMETSAT，原始数据来自NASA 我估计数据来自：TOPEX/Poseidon和Jason-1卫星