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TOPEX/Poseidon Flight Mission
As a major element in NASA's Earth Science Enterprise (ESE) (formerly Mission to Planet Earth), the TOPEX/Poseidon Mission has carried out the first systematic, comprehensive study of sea surface elevations, using a spaceborne radar altimeter. The goal of the TOPEX/Poseidon is to understand the changing topography of the oceans, as well as the ocean's role in the global climate. The TOPEX/Poseidon platform provides near global (-80° to +80°) measurements by time and location of ocean surface height parameters and derived values (e.g., sea surface anomaly, significant wave height, ocean depth, and mean sea surface).
The TOPEX/Poseidon altimetry mission celebrated its 10th anniversary in orbit on August 10, 2002. Because of the high-quality data produced, NASA has decided to continue TOPEX/Poseidon operations through September 2003. During this time, TOPEX and Jason-1 will fly in formation and explore higher-resolution precision altimetry.
TOPEX/Poseidon carries science instruments and position location instruments.
The science instruments on TOPEX/Poseidon
are radar altimeters that complement each other with different views of the Earth's
ocean topography and atmosphere.
The Jason-1 Mission, launched December 7, 2001, carries updated versions of the same instruments.
Local TOPEX/Poseidon Mission Links NASA's TOPEX/Poseidon Instrument
data products featured on this CD-ROM
Disclaimer:
NASA offers these suggested sites for additional information regarding TOPEX/Poseidon.
Web access is required to reach these sites.
Link existence and contents are not under the control of the EOSDIS Science Operations Office.