Jason-1
Mission type | Oceanography mission |
---|---|
Operator | NASA / CNES |
COSPAR ID | 2001-055A |
SATCAT no. | 26997 |
Website | Ocean Surface Topography from Space |
Mission duration | 3 years (planned) 11+1⁄2 years (achieved) |
Spacecraft properties | |
Bus | Proteus |
Manufacturer | Thales Alenia Space |
Launch mass | 500 kg (1,100 lb) |
Power | 1000 watts |
Start of mission | |
Launch date | 7 December 2001, 15:07:00 Vandenberg, SLC-2W |
Contractor | Boeing Defense, Space & Security |
End of mission | |
Deactivated | 1 July 2013 |
Orbital parameters | |
Reference system | Geocentric orbit |
Regime | Low Earth orbit |
Altitude | 1,336 km (830 mi) |
Inclination | 66.0° |
Period | 112.56 minutes |
Jason-1
Naming
The lineage of the name begins with the JASO1 meeting (JASO=Journées Altimétriques Satellitaires pour l'Océanographie) in Toulouse, France to study the problems of assimilating altimeter data in models. Jason as an acronym also stands for "Joint Altimetry Satellite Oceanography Network". Additionally, it is used to reference the mythical quest for knowledge of Jason and the Argonauts.[1] Archived 25 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine[2][3] This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
History
Jason-1 is the successor to the
Jason-1 was built by Thales Alenia Space using a Proteus platform, under a contract from CNES, as well as the main Jason-1 instrument, the Poseidon-2 altimeter (successor to the Poseidon altimeter on-board TOPEX/Poseidon).
Jason-1 was designed to measure
Jason-1 was launched on 7 December 2001 from
On 16 March 2002, Jason-1 experienced a sudden attitude upset, accompanied by temporary fluctuations in the onboard electrical systems. Soon after this incident, two new small pieces of space debris were observed in orbits slightly lower than Jason-1's, and spectroscopic analysis eventually proved them to have originated from Jason-1. In 2011, it was determined that the pieces of debris had most likely been ejected from Jason-1 by an unidentified, small "high-speed particle" hitting one of the spacecraft's solar panels.[5]
Orbit maneuvers in 2009 put the Jason-1 satellite on the opposite side of Earth from the OSTM/Jason-2 satellite, which is operated by the United States and French weather agencies. At that time, Jason-1 flew over the same region of the ocean that OSTM/Jason-2 flew over five days earlier. Its ground tracks fell midway between those of OSTM/Jason-2, which are about 315 km (196 mi) apart at the equator.
This interleaved tandem mission provided twice the number of measurements of the ocean's surface, bringing smaller features such as ocean eddies into view. The tandem mission also helped pave the way for a future ocean altimeter mission that would collect much more detailed data with its single instrument than the two Jason satellites now do together.[6]
In early 2012, having helped cross-calibrate the OSTM/Jason-2 replacement mission, Jason-1 was maneuvered into its graveyard orbit and all remaining fuel was vented.[7] The mission was still able to return science data, measuring Earth's gravity field over the ocean. On 21 June 2013, contact with Jason-1 was lost; multiple attempts to re-establish communication failed. It was determined that the last remaining transmitter on board the spacecraft had failed. Operators sent commands to the satellite to turn off remaining functioning components on 1 July 2013, rendering it decommissioned. It is estimated that the spacecraft will remain on orbit for at least 1,000 years.[8]
The program is named after the Greek mythological hero Jason.
Satellite instruments
Jason-1 has five 5 instruments:
- Poseidon 2 – Nadir pointing Radar altimeter using C band and Ku band for measuring height above sea surface.
- Jason Microwave Radiometer (JMR) – measures water vapor along altimeter path to correct for pulse delay
- Doppler Orbitography and Radiopositioning Integrated by Satellite) for orbit determination to within 10 cm or less and ionosphericcorrection data for Poseidon 2.
- BlackJack Global Positioning System receiver provides precise orbit ephemeris data
- Laser retroreflector array works with ground stations to track the satellite and calibrate and verify altimeter measurements.
The Jason-1 satellite, its altimeter instrument and a position-tracking antenna were built in France. The radiometer, Global Positioning System receiver and laser retroreflector array were built in the United States.
Use of information
TOPEX/Poseidon and Jason-1 have made major contributions[11] to the understanding of:
Ocean variability
The missions revealed the surprising variability of the ocean, how much it changes from season to season, year to year, decade to decade and on even longer time scales. They ended the traditional notion of a quasi-steady, large-scale pattern of global ocean circulation by proving that the ocean is changing rapidly on all scales, from huge features such as El Niño and La Niña, which can cover the entire equatorial Pacific, to tiny eddies swirling off the large Gulf Stream in the Atlantic.
Sea level change
Measurements by Jason-1 indicate that mean sea level has been rising at an average rate of 2.28 mm (0.09 inch) per year since 2001. This is somewhat less than the rate measured by the earlier
The data record from these altimetry missions has given scientists important insights into how global sea level is affected by natural climate variability, as well as by human activities.
Planetary Waves
TOPEX/Poseidon and Jason-1 made clear the importance of planetary-scale waves, such as Rossby and Kelvin waves. No one had realized how widespread these waves are. Thousands of kilometers wide, these waves are driven by wind under the influence of Earth's rotation and are important mechanisms for transmitting climate signals across the large ocean basins. At high latitudes, they travel twice as fast as scientists believed previously, showing the ocean responds much more quickly to climate changes than was known before these missions.
Ocean tides
The precise measurements of TOPEX/Poseidon's and Jason-1 have brought knowledge of ocean tides to an unprecedented level. The change of water level due to tidal motion in the deep ocean is known everywhere on the globe to within 2.5 centimeters (1 inch). This new knowledge has revised notions about how tides dissipate. Instead of losing all their energy over shallow seas near the coasts, as previously believed, about one third of tidal energy is actually lost to the deep ocean. There, the energy is consumed by mixing water of different properties, a fundamental mechanism in the physics governing the general circulation of the ocean.
Ocean models
TOPEX/Poseidon and Jason-1 observations provided the first global data for improving the performance of the numerical ocean models that are a key component of climate prediction models. TOPEX/Poseidon and Jason-1 data are available at the University of Colorado Center for Astrodynamics Research,[12] NASA's Physical Oceanography Distributed Active Archive Center,[13] and the French data archive center AVISO.[14]
Benefits to society
Altimetry data have a wide variety of uses from basic scientific research on climate to ship routing. Applications include:
- Climate Research: altimetry data are incorporated into computer models to understand and predict changes in the distribution of heat in the ocean, a key element of climate.
- La NiñaForecasting: understanding the pattern and effects of climate cycles such as El Niño helps predict and mitigate the disastrous effects of floods and drought.
- HurricaneForecasting: altimeter data and satellite ocean wind data are incorporated into atmospheric models for hurricane season forecasting and individual storm severity.
- Ship Routing: maps of ocean currents, eddies, and vector winds are used in commercial shipping and recreational yachting to optimize routes.
- Offshore Industries: cable-laying vessels and offshore oil operations require accurate knowledge of ocean circulation patterns to minimize impacts from strong currents.
- Marine MammalResearch: sperm whales, fur seals, and other marine mammals can be tracked, and therefore studied, around ocean eddies where nutrients and plankton are abundant.
- FisheriesManagement: satellite data identify ocean eddies which bring an increase in organisms that comprise the marine food web, attracting fish and fishermen.
- Coral ReefResearch: remotely sensed data are used to monitor and assess coral reef ecosystems, which are sensitive to changes in ocean temperature.
- Marine DebrisTracking: the amount of floating and partially submerged material, including nets, timber and ship debris, is increasing with human population. Altimetry can help locate these hazardous materials.
See also
- Argo - a project to measure the temperature and salinity of the upper 2 km of the water column
- Seasat - an early radar altimeter satellite
- TOPEX/Poseidon - the immediate predecessor to Jason-1
- Ocean Surface Topography Mission/Jason-2– the immediate successor to Jason-1
- 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake- Energy of the earthquake
- French space program
References
- ^ "Ocean Surface Topography from Space". NASA/JPL. Archived from the original on 13 May 2008. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ "Jason Sets Sail; Satellite to Spot Sea's Solar/Atmospheric Seesaw". NASA/JPL. Archived from the original on 17 February 2013. Retrieved 30 June 2008. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ "Ocean Surface Topography from Space". NASA/JPL. Archived from the original on 31 May 2008. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ "Ocean Surface Topography from Space". NASA/JPL. Archived from the original on 6 August 2002. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ "New Evidence of Particle Impact on Jason-1 Spacecraft" (PDF). NASA. July 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 October 2011. Retrieved 2 February 2017. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ "Tandem Mission Brings Ocean Currents Into Sharper Focus". NASA/JPL. Archived from the original on 22 April 2009. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ "Last transmitter dies, finalizing retirement for ocean-sensing satellite" Ars Technica Retrieved: 25 May 2017
- ^ "Long-Running Jason-1 Ocean Satellite Takes Final Bow", Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Retrieved: 25 May 2017 This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ "OSTM/JASON-2 SCIENCE AND OPERATIONAL REQUIREMENTS". EUMETSAT. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007.
- ^ "OSTM/JASON-2 SCIENCE AND OPERATIONAL REQUIREMENTS". EUMETSAT. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007.
- ^ ""The Legacy of Topex/Poseidon and Jason 1", page 30. Ocean Surface Topography Mission/Jason 2 Launch Press Kit, June 2008" (PDF). NASA/JPL. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ "CCAR Near Real-time Altimetry Data Homepage". University of Colorado. Archived from the original on 15 May 2008.
- ^ "Physical Oceanography DAAC". NASA. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ "Aviso Altimetry". CNES.