Jason is an ocenography mission to monitor global ocean circulation, discover the tie between the oceans and atmosphere, improve global climate predictions and monitor events such as El Nino conditions and ocean eddies. The Jason-1 satalite carries a radar altimeter and it is a follow-on mission between France and the US. The satalite will be launched in late 2000.

For more information on the TOPEX Poseidon mission visit there website at http://topex-www.jpl.nasa.gov.