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6 Things to Know From NASA About New US, European Sea Satellite

2025-11-15 00:13

6 min read

Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)

Set to launch no earlier than Nov. 16, Sentinel-6B will continue a decades-long data record of sea level measurement that will help decision-makers manage coastal flooding, support hurricane intensity forecasts, and assist in the return of astronauts from space.

NASA

Data from Sentinel-6B will continue a decades-long record of sea surface height, helping to improve coastal planning, protect critical infrastructure, and advance weather forecasts.

With launch set for no earlier than 12:21 a.m. EST Monday, Nov. 17, Sentinel-6B is the latest satellite in a series of spacecraft NASA and its partners have used to measure sea levels since 1992. Their data has helped meteorologists improve hurricane forecasts, managers protect infrastructure, and coastal communities plan.

After launch, Sentinel-6B will begin the process of data cross-calibration with its predecessor, Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich, to provide essential information about Earth’s ocean.

Sentinel-6B is the second of two satellites that constitute the Sentinel-6/Jason-CS (Continuity of Service) mission, a collaboration between NASA, ESA (European Space Agency), EUMETSAT (European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The European Commission contributed funding support while France’s space agency CNES (Centre National d’Études Spatiales) provided technical expertise.

Here are six things to know about Sentinel-6B and the broader Copernicus Sentinel-6/Jason-CS mission:

1. Sentinel-6B will deliver data on about 90% of Earth’s ocean, providing direct benefits to humanity.

Sentinel-6B will contribute to a multidecade dataset for sea level measurements from space. This data is key to helping improve public safety, city planning, and protecting commercial and defense interests.

Pioneered by NASA and its partners, the dataset enables users in government, industry, and the research community to better understand how sea levels change over time. Combined with information from other NASA satellites, data from Copernicus Sentinel-6/Jason-CS is vital for tracking how heat and energy move through Earth’s seas and atmosphere, as well as for monitoring ocean features such as currents and eddies. The measurements come courtesy of a radar altimeter that measures sea levels for nearly all of Earth’s ocean, providing information on large-scale currents that can aid in commercial and naval navigation, search and rescue, and the tracking of debris and pollutants from disasters at sea.

Sentinel-6B is part of a U.S.-European mission that will continue 30-year-plus record of sea-level measurements. Its observations will help build an accurate picture of local and global sea surface heights to support storm forecasting, secure coastal infrastructure, and help optimize commercial activities, such as shipping.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

2. Data from the Copernicus Sentinel-6/Jason-CS mission helps NASA prepare for the next phase of space exploration.

The better we understand Earth, the better NASA can carry out its mission to explore the universe. Data from the Copernicus Sentinel-6/Jason-CS mission is used to refine the Goddard Earth Observing System atmospheric forecast models, which the NASA Engineering Safety Center uses to plan safer reentry of astronauts returning from Artemis missions.

Additionally, changes to Earth’s ocean, observed by satellites, can have measurable effects beyond our planet. For instance, while the Moon influences ocean tides on Earth, changes in those tides can also exert a small influence on the Moon. Data from Copernicus Sentinel-6/Jason-CS can help improve understanding of this relationship, knowledge that can contribute to future lunar exploration missions.

3. The Copernicus Sentinel-6/Jason-CS mission helps the U.S. respond to challenges by putting actionable information into the hands of decision-makers.

Data collected by the mission helps city planners, as well as local and state governments, to make informed decisions on protecting coastal infrastructure, real estate, and energy facilities. The mission’s sea level data also improves meteorologists’ weather predictions, which are critical to commercial and recreational navigation. By enhancing weather prediction models, data provided by Copernicus Sentinel-6/Jason-CS improves forecasts of hurricane development, including the likelihood of storm intensification, which can aid disaster preparedness and response.

4. Data from Sentinel-6B will support national security efforts.

The ocean and atmosphere measurements from Sentinel-6B will enable decision-makers to better protect coastal military installations from such events as nuisance flooding while aiding national defense efforts by providing crucial information about weather and ocean conditions. The satellite will do so by feeding near-real time data on Earth’s atmosphere and seas to forward-looking weather and ocean models. Since the measurements are part of a long-term dataset, they also can add historical context that puts the new data in perspective.

5. The Copernicus Sentinel-6/Jason-CS mission’s direct observation of sea levels delivers information critical to protecting coastlines, where nearly half of the world’s population lives.

Sea level rise varies from one area to another, meaning that some coastlines are more vulnerable than others to flooding, erosion, and saltwater contamination of underground freshwater supplies, the latter of which threatens farmland and drinking water. Sea level measurements from Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich, and soon, Sentinel-6B, form the basis of U.S. flood predictions for coastal infrastructure, real estate, energy storage sites, and other coastal assets. Knowing which regions are more vulnerable to these risks will enable U.S. industries and emergency managers to make better-informed decisions about transportation and commercial infrastructure, land-use planning, water management, and adaptation strategies.

6. The international collaboration behind the mission enables the pooling of capabilities, resources, and expertise.

The multidecadal dataset that this mission supports is the result of years of close work between NASA and several collaborators, including NASA, ESA, EUMETSAT, CNES, and NOAA. By pooling expertise and resources, this partnership has delivered cost-effective solutions that have made precise, high-impact data available to industry and government agencies alike.

More about Sentinel-6B

Copernicus Sentinel-6/Jason-CS was jointly developed by ESA, EUMETSAT, NASA, and NOAA, with funding support from the European Commission and technical support from CNES. The mission also marks the first international involvement in Copernicus, the European Union’s Earth Observation Programme.

Managed for NASA by Caltech in Pasadena, JPL contributed three science instruments for each Sentinel-6 satellite: the Advanced Microwave Radiometer, the Global Navigation Satellite System – Radio Occultation, and the laser retroreflector array. NASA is also contributing launch services, ground systems supporting operation of the NASA science instruments, the science data processors for two of these instruments, and support for the international ocean surface topography community.

For more about Sentinel-6B, visit:

https://science.nasa.gov/mission/sentinel-6B

News Media Contacts

Elizabeth Vlock
NASA Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
elizabeth.a.vlock@nasa.gov

Andrew Wang / Andrew Good
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
626-379-6874 / 626-840-4291
andrew.wang@jpl.nasa.gov / andrew.c.good@jpl.nasa.gov

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Nov 14, 2025

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NASA Sets Launch Coverage for International Ocean Tracking Mission

2025-11-14 19:23

In this artist’s concept, the ocean-observing satellite Sentinel-6B orbits Earth with its deployable solar panels extended.

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

NASA will provide live coverage of prelaunch and launch activities for Sentinel-6B, an international mission delivering critical sea level and ocean data to protect coastal infrastructure, improve weather forecasting, and support commercial activities at sea.

Launch is targeted at 12:21 a.m. EST, Monday, Nov. 17 (9:21 p.m. PST, Sunday, Nov. 16) aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

Watch coverage beginning at 11:30 p.m. EST (8:30 p.m. PST) on NASA+, Amazon Prime, and more. Learn how to watch NASA content through a variety of platforms, including social media.

The Sentinel-6B mission continues a decades-long effort to monitor global sea level and ocean conditions using precise radar measurements from space. Since the early 1990s, satellites launched by NASA and domestic and international partners have collected precise sea level data. The launch of Sentinel-6B will extend this dataset out to nearly four decades.

NASA’s mission coverage is as follows (all times Eastern and subject to change based on real-time operations):

Saturday, Nov. 15

4 p.m. – NASA Prelaunch Teleconference on International Ocean Tracking Mission

Karen St. Germain, director, Earth Science Division, NASA Headquarters in Washington
Pierrik Veuilleumier, Sentinel-6B project manager, ESA (European Space Agency)
Parag Vaze, Sentinel-6B project manager, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California
Tim Dunn, senior launch director, Launch Services Program, NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida
Julianna Scheiman, director, NASA Science Missions, SpaceX
1st Lt. William Harbin, launch weather officer, U.S. Air Force

Audio of the teleconference will stream on the NASA Video YouTube channel.

Media interested in participating by phone must RSVP no later than two hours prior to the start of the call at: ksc-newsroom@mail.nasa.gov. A copy of NASA’s media accreditation policy is online.

Sunday Nov. 16

11:30 p.m. – Launch coverage begins on NASA+, Amazon Prime, and more.

Audio-only coverage

Audio-only of the launch coverage will be carried on the NASA “V” circuits, which may be accessed by dialing 321-867-1220 or -1240. On launch day, “mission audio” countdown activities without NASA+ launch commentary will be carried at 321-867-7135.

NASA website launch coverage

Launch day coverage of the mission will be available on the agency’s website. Coverage will include links to live streaming and blog updates beginning no earlier than 11 p.m. EST, Nov. 16, as the countdown milestones occur. Streaming video and photos of the launch will be accessible on demand shortly after liftoff. Follow countdown coverage on NASA’s Sentinel-6/Jason-CS blog.

For questions about countdown coverage, contact the NASA Kennedy newsroom at: 321-867-2468.

Attend launch virtually

Members of the public can register to attend this launch virtually. NASA’s virtual guest program for this mission includes curated launch resources, notifications about related opportunities or changes, and a stamp for the NASA virtual guest passport following launch.

Watch, engage on social media

Let people know you’re watching the mission on X, Facebook, and Instagram by following and tagging these accounts:

X: @NASA, @NASAKennedy, @NASAJPL, @NASAEarth

Facebook: NASA, NASA Kennedy, NASA JPL, NASA Earth

Instagram: @NASA, @NASAKennedy, @NASAJPL, @NASAEarth

Sentinel-6B is the second of twin satellites in the Copernicus Sentinel-6/Jason-CS (Continuity of Service) mission, a collaboration among NASA, ESA, EUMETSAT (European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The first satellite in the mission, Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich, launched in November 2020. The European Commission contributed funding support, while France’s space agency CNES (Centre National d’Études Spatiales) provided technical expertise. The mission also marks the first international involvement in Copernicus, the European Union’s Earth Observation Programme.

For more information about these missions, visit:

https://science.nasa.gov/mission/sentinel-6b/

-end-

Elizabeth Vlock
NASA Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
elizabeth.a.vlock@nasa.gov

Leejay Lockhart
Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
321-747-8310
leejay.lockhart@nasa.gov

Andrew Wang / Andrew Good
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
626-379-6874 / 818-393-2433
andrew.wang@jpl.nasa.gov / andrew.c.good@jpl.nasa.gov

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Nov 14, 2025

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Mapping Dark Matter

2025-11-14 17:44

Webb near-infrared data combined with Chandra X-ray data of the Bullet Cluster show many overlapping objects, including foreground stars, galaxies in galaxy clusters, and distorted background galaxies behind the galaxy clusters. The objects are all at various distances set against the black background of space. Most galaxies appear as tiny fuzzy ovals in white, orange, or red. A slightly larger, very bright, light blue spiral galaxy is at center. To its immediate left and right are two large bright pink splotches representing X-rays. The right pink area has a rounded nose facing right, where it is darker pink, and fades to the left as a triangular shape. This is referred to as the Bullet. To the far left and far right, next to the pink regions, are two blue regions representing dark matter mass. The left blue region is a large, long oval at an angle. The blue region at right is a far smaller oval.

NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, CXC

This image released on June 30, 2025, combines data from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope and NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory to visualize dark matter. Researchers used Webb’s observations to carefully measure the mass of the galaxy clusters shown here as well as the collective light emitted by stars that are no longer bound to individual galaxies.

Learn more.

Image credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, CXC

NASA Glenn Teams Win 2025 R&D 100 Awards

2025-11-14 17:39

Graphic drawing showing the Earth and the Moon with satellites in space linked by lasers to circles showing planetary habitats, satellite dishes, and the space station.

Artistic rendering of the High-Rate Delay Tolerant Networking protocol being used on the Laser Communications Relay Demonstration to transfer radio and optical communications between Earth and space.

Credit: NASA

NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland has earned 2025 R&D 100 Awards for developing a system that delivers high-speed internet for space and co-inventing technology for a new class of soft magnetic nanocrystalline materials designed to operate at extreme temperatures. This brings NASA Glenn’s total to 130 R&D 100 Awards.

High-Rate Delay Tolerant Networking

NASA Glenn’s Daniel Raible and Rachel Dudukovich led their team of engineers to create High-Rate Delay Tolerant Networking (HDTN), a cutting-edge software solution designed to revolutionize data streaming and communication in space. HDTN enables reliable, high-speed transmission of data between space and Earth — even under the extreme conditions of space — minimizing loss and system delay.

Eleven people stand next to one another inside an airplane hangar. Two small planes sit behind them. An American flag and a banner reading “Welcome! John H. Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field, Cleveland, Ohio” are visible behind the group.

High-Rate Delay Tolerant Networking team photo, left to right: Tad Kollar, Eric Brace, Brian Tomko, José Lombay-González, Nadia Kortas, Daniel Raible, John Nowakowski, Shaun McKeehan, Ethan Schweinsberg, Prash Choksi, and Rachel Dudukovich.

Credit: NASA/Jef Janis

“The HDTN software protocol allows faster, automated, and seamless data transfer between spacecraft, even across communication systems operating on different link speeds,” Raible said. “It’s up to 10 times faster than current delay-tolerant networking (DTN).”

This advanced technology has far-reaching implications beyond NASA. With its open-source code, HDTN paves the way for collaboration, innovation, and adoption across the rapidly expanding commercial space industry, offering near real-time communication capabilities.

Looking ahead, HDTN could form the foundation of a solar system-wide internet, supporting data exchange between Earth, spacecraft, and even future missions involving human travel to the Moon and Mars.

VulcanAlloy

In a project led by the University of Pittsburgh, researchers at NASA Glenn, including Nick Bruno, Grant Feichter, Vladimir Keylin, Alex Leary, and Ron Noebe, partnered with CorePower Magnetics to develop VulcanAlloy — a breakthrough soft magnetic nanocrystalline material.

Two packaged inductors with electrical windings sit on a large plate with wiring attached to the inductors and to the Glenn Extreme Environments Rig.

NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland tested high-temperature inductors using VulcanAlloy technology in the NASA Glenn Extreme Environments Rig, which simulates the conditions on Venus’ surface, on May 13, 2025.

Credit: NASA

VulcanAlloy, developed under NASA’s High Operating Temperature Technology Program using processing capability established by the Advanced Air Transport Technology project, operates above 500°C, far beyond the limits of conventional soft magnetic materials. Its nano-engineered structure maintains efficiency at high temperatures and frequencies.

With adjustable magnetic properties, it can replace multiple materials in components like inductors, transformers, motors, and sensors while reducing the need for bulky cooling systems — ideal for extreme environments.

Raytheon has tested VulcanAlloy cores, highlighting their potential in electrified aircraft, defense, and aerospace systems.

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The R&D 100 Awards, a worldwide science and innovation competition, received entries from organizations around the world. Now in its 63rd year, this year’s judging panel included industry professionals from across the globe who evaluated breakthrough innovations in technology and science.

Hubble Studies Star Ages in Colorful Galaxy

2025-11-14 12:46

2 min read

Hubble Studies Star Ages in Colorful Galaxy

An oval-shaped spiral galaxy. Only the center and lower half of the galaxy is in frame. Its center is primarily golden in color with a white glowing core, while its thick spiral arms are mostly blue, particularly at the outskirts; these colors merge in between. Dark lanes of dust swirl through the center, blocking some of the galaxy’s light. Stars and distant galaxies are visible around the edges on a black background.

This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image features the spiral galaxy called NGC 6000.

ESA/Hubble & NASA, A. Filippenko; Acknowledgment: M. H. Özsaraç

Stars of all ages are on display in this NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image of the sparkling spiral galaxy called NGC 6000, located 102 million light-years away in the constellation Scorpius.

NGC 6000 has a glowing yellow center and glittering blue outskirts. These colors reflect differences in the average ages, masses, and temperatures of the galaxy’s stars. At the heart of the galaxy, the stars tend to be older and smaller. Less massive stars are cooler than more massive stars, and somewhat counterintuitively, cooler stars are redder, while hotter stars are bluer. Farther out along NGC 6000’s spiral arms, brilliant star clusters host young, massive stars that appear distinctly blue.

Hubble collected the data for this image while surveying the sites of recent supernova explosions in nearby galaxies. NGC 6000 hosted two recent supernovae: SN 2007ch in 2007 and SN 2010as in 2010. Using Hubble’s sensitive detectors, researchers can discern the faint glow of supernovae years after the initial explosion. These observations help constrain the masses of supernovae progenitor stars and can indicate if they had any stellar companions.

By zooming in to the right side of the galaxy’s disk in this image, you can see a set of four thin yellow and blue lines. These lines are an asteroid in our solar system that was drifting across Hubble’s field of view as it gazed at NGC 6000. The four lines are due to four different exposures recorded one after another with slight pauses in between. Image processors combined these four exposures to create the final image. The lines appear dashed with alternating colors because each exposure used a filter to collect very specific wavelengths of light, in this case around red and blue. Having these separate exposures of particular wavelengths is important to study and compare stars by their colors — but it also makes asteroid interlopers very obvious!