1. Why in news?
1.1. The Copernicus Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich satellite, designed to monitor oceans, was launched recently
1.1.1. from the Vandenberg Air Force base
1.1.1.1. in California aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket .
1.1.2. This satellite is a part of the next mission, dedicated to measuring changes in the global sea level.
2. What are the other satellites launched to track changes in oceans?
2.1. TOPEX/Poseidon
2.2. Jason-1
2.3. OSTN/Jason-2
3. After whom the satellite is named?
3.1. Dr. Michael Freilich
3.1.1. the Director of NASA’s Earth Science Division
3.1.1.1. from 2006-2019
3.1.1.2. passed away in August 2020.
4. What is the mission?
4.1. The mission, called the Jason Continuity of Service (Jason-CS) mission,
4.2. is designed to measure the height of the oceans
4.2.1. It is a key component in understanding how the Earth’s climate is changing.
5. Which agencies have developed the satellite?
5.1. developed jointly by
5.1.1. the European Space Agency (ESA)
5.1.2. NASA
5.1.3. European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (Eumetsat),
5.1.4. the USA’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
5.1.5. EU
5.1.5.1. with contributions from France’s National Centre for Space Studies (CNES).
6. What will the satellite do?
6.1. Since 1992, high-precision satellite altimeters have helped scientists understand how the ocean stores and distributes heat, water and carbon in the climate system.
6.1.1. The satellite will ensure the continuity of sea-level observations into the fourth decade and will provide measurements of global sea-level rise.
6.1.1.1. The satellite will be sending pulses to the Earth’s surface and measure how long they take to return.
6.1.1.1.1. This will help the scientists measure the sea surface height.
7. Any other help the satellite work will provide?
7.1. The data collected by the satellite will support operational oceanography,by providing improved forecasts of ocean currents,wind and wave conditions
7.1.1. The data will also help in short term and long term forecasting for weather predictions.
8. Why will the measurement of ocean height help?
8.1. Data from Sentinel-6 satellite will help the scientist foresee the effects of changing oceans on the climate.
8.1.1. The height of the sea surface will help the scientists know the ocean currents and heat storage of the oceans, which will help in measuring and tracking changes in the oceanic heat budget.