The Ocean Surface Topography Mission (OSTM) is built around a series of 'Jason' satellites (named after the mythical Greek mariner), which will collect global ocean surface data on a continuous basis for several decades. The aim is to measure the global sea surface height to an accuracy of a few centimetres every 10 days, to determine ocean circulation and mean sea level trend, in support of weather forecasting, climate monitoring and operational oceanography. Launched on 20 June 2008, Jason-2 overlaps with the Jason-1 mission to secure the continuity of high accuracy satellite altimetry observations.

Jason
Mission Overview The Jason-2 programme is an international partnership across multiple organisations, including EUMETSAT, CNES, and the US agencies NASA and NOAA.	Instruments Jason-2's primary instruments are a radar altimeter, a microwave radiometer, and several precise orbit determination systems.
Services Applications of the data collected by Jason-2 are in the areas of marine meteorology; operational oceanography; seasonal prediction, and climate monitoring.	Resources A collection of technical and scientific documentation relating to the Jason programme.