Category: 7. Science

In the push to shrink and enhance technologies that control light, MIT researchers have unveiled a new platform that pushes the limits of modern optics through nanophotonics, the manipulation of light on the nanoscale, or billionths of a meter.

The result is a class of ultracompact optical devices that are not only smaller and more efficient than existing technologies, but also dynamically tunable, or switchable, from one optical mode to another. Until now, this has been an elusive combination in nanophotonics.

The work is reported in the July 8 issue of Nature Photonics.

“This work marks a significant step toward a future in which nanophotonic devices are not only compact and efficient, but also reprogrammable and adaptive, capable of dynamically responding to external inputs. The  marriage of emerging quantum materials and established nanophotonics architectures will surely bring advances to both fields,” says Riccardo Comin, MIT’s Class of 1947 Career Development Associate Professor of Physics and leader of the work. Comin is also affiliated with MIT’s Materials Research Laboratory and Research Laboratory of Electronics (RLE).

Comin’s colleagues on the work are Ahmet Kemal Demir, an MIT graduate student in physics; Luca Nessi, a former MIT postdoc who is now a postdoc at Politecnico di Milano; Sachin Vaidya, a postdoc in RLE; Connor A. Occhialini PhD ’24, who is now a postdoc at Columbia University; and Marin Soljačić, the Cecil and Ida Green Professor of Physics at MIT.

Demir and Nessi are co-first authors of the Nature Photonics paper.

Toward new nanophotonic materials

Nanophotonics has traditionally relied on materials like silicon, silicon nitride, or titanium dioxide. These are the building blocks of devices that guide and confine light using structures such as waveguides, resonators, and photonic crystals. The latter are periodic arrangements of materials that control how light propagates, much like how a semiconductor crystal affects electron motion.

While highly effective, these materials are constrained by two major limitations. The first involves their refractive indices. These are a measure of how strongly a material interacts with light; the higher the refractive index, the more the material “grabs” or interacts with the light, bending it more sharply and slowing it down more. The refractive indices of silicon and other traditional nanophotonic materials are often modest, which limits how tightly light can be confined and how small optical devices can be made.

A second major limitation of traditional nanophotonic materials: once a structure is fabricated, its optical behavior is essentially fixed. There is usually no way to significantly reconfigure how it responds to light without physically altering it. “Tunability is essential for many next-gen photonics applications, enabling adaptive imaging, precision sensing, reconfigurable light sources, and trainable optical neural networks,” says Vaidya.

Introducing chromium sulfide bromide

These are the longstanding challenges that chromium sulfide bromide (CrSBr) is poised to solve. CrSBr is a layered quantum material with a rare combination of magnetic order and strong optical response. Central to its unique optical properties are excitons: quasiparticles formed when a material absorbs light and an electron is excited, leaving behind a positively charged “hole.” The electron and hole remain bound together by electrostatic attraction, forming a sort of neutral particle that can strongly interact with light.

In CrSBr, excitons dominate the optical response and are highly sensitive to magnetic fields, which means they can be manipulated using external controls.

Because of these excitons, CrSBr exhibits an exceptionally large refractive index that allows researchers to sculpt the material to fabricate optical structures like photonic crystals that are up to an order of magnitude thinner than those made from traditional materials. “We can make optical structures as thin as 6 nanometers, or just seven layers of atoms stacked on top of each other,” says Demir.

And crucially, by applying a modest magnetic field, the MIT researchers were able to continuously and reversibly switch the optical mode. In other words, they demonstrated the ability to dynamically change how light flows through the nanostructure, all without any moving parts or changes in temperature. “This degree of control is enabled by a giant, magnetically induced shift in the refractive index, far beyond what is typically achievable in established photonic materials,” says Demir.

In fact, the interaction between light and excitons in CrSBr is so strong that it leads to the formation of polaritons, hybrid light-matter particles that inherit properties from both components. These polaritons enable new forms of photonic behavior, such as enhanced nonlinearities and new regimes of quantum light transport. And unlike conventional systems that require external optical cavities to reach this regime, CrSBr supports polaritons intrinsically.

While this demonstration uses standalone CrSBr flakes, the material can also be integrated into existing photonic platforms, such as integrated photonic circuits. This makes CrSBr immediately relevant to real-world applications, where it can serve as a tunable layer or component in otherwise passive devices.

The MIT results were achieved at very cold temperatures of up to 132 kelvins (-222 degrees Fahrenheit). Although this is below room temperature, there are compelling use cases, such as quantum simulation, nonlinear optics, and reconfigurable polaritonic platforms, where the unparalleled tunability of CrSBr could justify operation in cryogenic environments.

In other words, says Demir, “CrSBr is so unique with respect to other common materials that even going down to cryogenic temperatures will be worth the trouble, hopefully.”

That said, the team is also exploring related materials with higher magnetic ordering temperatures to enable similar functionality at more accessible conditions.

This work was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Army Research Office, and a MathWorks Science Fellowship. The work was performed in part at MIT.nano.

Four crew members of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 mission launched at 11:43 a.m. EDT Friday from Launch Complex 39A at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida for a science expedition aboard the International Space Station.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket propelled the Dragon spacecraft into orbit carrying NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Kimiya Yui, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov. The spacecraft will dock autonomously to the space-facing port of the station’s Harmony module at approximately 3 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 2.

“Thanks to the bold leadership of President Donald J. Trump, NASA is back! The agency’s SpaceX Crew-11 mission to the space station is the first step toward our permanent presence on the Moon. NASA, in conjunction with great American companies, continues the mission with Artemis in 2026. This Moon mission will ensure America wins the space race – critical to national security – and leads in the emerging, exciting and highly profitable private sector commercial space business,” said acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy. “The Commercial Crew Program and Artemis missions prove what American ingenuity, and cutting-edge American manufacturing can achieve. We’re going to the Moon…to stay! After that, we go to Mars! Welcome to the Golden Age of exploration!”

During Dragon’s flight, SpaceX will monitor a series of automatic spacecraft maneuvers from its mission control center in Hawthorne, California. NASA will monitor space station operations throughout the flight from the Mission Control Center at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

NASA’s live coverage resumes at 1 a.m., Aug. 2, on NASA+ with rendezvous, docking, and hatch opening. After docking, the crew will change out of their spacesuits and prepare cargo for offload before opening the hatch between Dragon and the space station’s Harmony module around 4:45 a.m. Once the new crew is aboard the orbital outpost, NASA will provide coverage of the welcome ceremony beginning at approximately 5:45 a.m.

Learn how to watch NASA content through a variety of platforms, including social media.

The number of crew aboard the space station will increase to 11 for a short time as Crew-11 joins NASA astronauts Anne McClain, Nichole Ayers, and Jonny Kim, JAXA astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Roscosmos cosmonauts Kirill Peskov, Sergey Ryzhikov, and Alexey Zubritsky.

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-10 will depart the space station after the arrival of Crew-11 and a handover period. Ahead of Crew-10’s return, mission teams will review weather conditions at the splashdown sites off the coast of California prior to departure from station.

During their mission, Crew-11 will conduct scientific research to prepare for human exploration beyond low Earth orbit and benefit humanity on Earth. Participating crew members will simulate lunar landings, test strategies to safeguard vision, and advance other human spaceflight studies led by NASA’s Human Research Program. The crew also will study plant cell division and microgravity’s effects on bacteria-killing viruses, as well as perform experiments to produce a higher volume of human stem cells and generate on-demand nutrients.

The mission is part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, which provides reliable access to space, maximizing the use of the station for research and development and supporting future missions beyond low Earth orbit by partnering with private companies to transport astronauts to and from the space station.
Learn more about the agency’s Commercial Crew Program at:

https://www.nasa.gov/commercialcrew

-end-

Josh Finch / Claire O’Shea
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
joshua.a.finch@nasa.gov / claire.a.o’shea@nasa.gov

Steven Siceloff
Kennedy Space Center, Florida
321-867-2468
steven.p.siceloff@nasa.gov

Sandra Jones
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
sandra.p.jones@nasa.gov

NEED TO KNOW

• The northern lights will be active on Friday, Aug. 1, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)’s forecast

• The rare, colorful display is expected to be visible from Earth in select location across the United States

• The northern lights have a three on the Kp-index that ranges from zero to nine, which means the auroras can be “quite pleasing to look at” under perfect conditions

The cosmos are sizzling this August!

The month is starting off strong with another round of northern lights, expected to color the night sky across several parts of the United States on Friday, Aug. 1, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)’s forecast.

The astronomical event, also known as the aurora borealis, is forecast a three on the Kp-index that ranges from zero to nine. This means that the display can be “quite pleasing to look at” under perfect conditions.

Those who reside in the northernmost areas of the U.S. have greater chances at catching a glimpse of the display if the weather aligns, meaning no clouds or rain that could hinder visibility from Earth. It’s important to avoid light pollution, too, which could drown out the vibrant hues.

Artificial light pollution aside, like city lights, the moon’s glow could also negatively impact the auroras. Fortunately, this month’s full moon — nicknamed the Sturgeon Moon — doesn’t peak until Aug. 9, so it’s currently only 49% illuminated as it’s amid its waxing crescent phase.

The chance to watch the northern lights from several parts of the U.S. is a rare phenomenon, however, there’s many many opportunities across the country in the last year alone. Most recently, NOAA’s forecast predicted visibility for northern areas on July 30.

Now, read on for how to watch the northern lights tonight!

When will the northern lights be visible?

The northern lights are expected to be visible on Friday evening, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)’s forecast.

For the best chances at spotting them, cast your eyes to the sky in the hours before and after midnight, specifically between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. local time. Note, it’s impossible to view the auroras during daylight hours — so darkest is best!

Since the northern lights have a three on the Kp-index, the auroras will move further away from the poles and have the potential to be “quite pleasing to look at” under perfect conditions.

Where will the northern lights be visible?

Skywatchers who live in the northernmost areas of the country have the best chances at viewing the colorful display from Earth tonight.

Locations include Alaska, the northeastern tip of Washington, northern Idaho, northern Montana, most of North Dakota, Minnesota and northern Wisconsin. (Be sure to check NOAA’s aurora forecast for the most accurate updates throughout the night.)

How to watch the northern lights?

The best part about the northern lights is that no advanced technology is necessary to spot them from Earth. Simply all that’s needed is the naked eye, a dark viewpoint and a state that’s in NOAA’s predicted aurora viewline.

Then, all sky gazers have to do is point their eyes to the sky and look up!

How to take photos of the northern lights?

If you didn’t take a photo of the northern lights, did you really see them in person? Fortunately, many smartphones have the technological capability to capture the auroras with a simple click of a button!

All smartphone users have to do is switch on the “Night Mode” settings on the device. Then, point the lens to the sky and snap away!

Read the original article on People

The Perseids are one of 2025’s most prolific meteor showers of the year and a great reason to look up at the night sky.

The meteor shower is known for having some of the highest meteor rates – up to 100 per hour under absolutely perfect conditions.

Plus, if you’re getting up early to see the meteor shower in the hours before dawn, you might catch sight of another celestial treat. On 13 August, Jupiter and Venus – the two brightest things in the night sky after the Moon – will be making their closest pass for the whole year.

Here’s everything you need to know to get the most out of the 2025 Perseids meteor shower.

When is the 2025 Perseid meteor shower?

The Perseids run from 17 July to 24 August, with the peak of activity falling on the night of 12/13 August.

This is when you could expect to see the most meteors, but if clouds or your schedule mean you can’t meteor watch on the peak, then you should be able to see a good show any time between 9-15 August.

The Perseids will be at their best from midnight until the hour or so before dawn. If that’s too late (or early) for you, you should still be able to see some meteors in the evening.

The Perseids have what’s known as a zenithal hourly rate (ZHR) of 100 to 150 meteors per hour, but that doesn’t quite mean you’ll see that many shooting stars.

“The ZHR of a meteor shower represents the rate expected under perfect conditions, a situation that’s rarely met,” says Pete Lawrence, an expert astronomer and presenter on The Sky at Night.

“Consequently, the actual number of meteors seen, the visual hourly rate, is often significantly lower, but at least a high ZHR indicates that good activity is possible.”

Where should I be looking to see the Perseid meteor shower?

A meteor can appear anywhere in the sky, so the best place to look is straight up, taking in as much of the night sky as you can.

However, if you trace back the trails of all the Perseid meteors, you’ll find they are all shooting out of the same spot in the sky, called the radiant, which is located in the constellation of Perseus (hence the name).

You don’t want to look directly at the radiant, as the meteors will be coming at you head-on. If you look away from this point, though, you should spot meteors with longer tails.

It’s still worthwhile tracking down Perseus. The constellation rises just as the Sun is setting and can be found throughout the night in the north to the northeastern sky.

The easiest way to find it is by locating the nearby constellation of Cassiopeia, which will appear as a W shape of bright stars. Perseus is just below this.

Where is the best place to observe a meteor shower?

The best place to see the 2025 Perseid meteor shower is anywhere that’s dark with a good view of the whole sky.

Light pollution will brighten up the background sky, making it harder to see dim meteors. If you can get away from the urban sprawl to a really dark sky site, then that’s the best option – though make sure it’s safe to do so and you have permission to be there after dark.

If you can’t get away, don’t worry. Look for a spot that’s shielded from any direct light sources. This could be a local park or even your back garden, using your house to block out any pesky streetlights.

How can you see a meteor shower?

The best way to see a meteor shower is to sit back and take in as much of the night sky as you can, as that will give you the best chance of catching a meteor.

It’s best to look with just your eyes, as telescopes and binoculars will narrow down your field of view.

Once you’re settled, allow your eyes time to adapt to the dark. It takes them about 30 minutes for our eyes to fully adjust, but you’ll start to notice a difference before that.

Be aware – a single bright light will completely undo all your dark adaptation, so be sure to turn off any security lights, and set your phone to red light mode.

Will the Moon interfere?

One source of light pollution we can’t do anything about is the Moon.

The Moon is full just a few days before the peak of the 2025 Perseids meteor shower, on 9 August. On the day of the peak, it will still be around 88 per cent illuminated and will be up for most of the night.

If you can, it’s best to position yourself so the Moon is blocked by a building or tree.

The Moon will rise in the east, moving higher in the sky and towards the East as the night goes on.

Here are our top tips for getting the most out of the Perseid meteor shower

• Find a dark spot. Whether in a proper dark sky site or in the darkest corner of your backyard, you’ll want to find a spot that’s away from as many lights as possible with a clear view of the sky.
• Put your phone on red light mode.  Red light will help protect your hard-won dark adaptation. Some phones have a function to set them to red light mode, while others will need an app to do it.
• Wrap up warm. Even in August, it gets cold at night when you’re sitting in one place. Wear layers so you can adapt to the changing temperatures throughout the night.
• Get comfy. Looking directly up all night can give you a real crick in the neck. If you’ve got one, a sun lounger will help support your head. Alternately, you can lie on the floor, but bring a blanket to insulate yourself from the ground and a cushion to rest your head on.
• Let your eyes adapt to the dark. This should take around 20-30 minutes, but the longer you adjust, the more meteors you’ll see.

What causes the Perseid meteor shower?

“Meteor showers occur when Earth passes through the fine dust debris strewn around the orbit of a comet,” says Lawrence.

In the case of the Perseids, this comet was 109P/Swift-Tuttle, which loops around the Solar System once every 133 years, having last come through our neck of the woods in 1995.

“The dust distribution tends to be sparse in the outer regions of the stream, densest towards the centre before trailing off again,” says Lawrence.

The dust left is around the size of a grain of sand, but they hit Earth’s atmosphere at approximately 215,000 km/h (130,000 mph).

This is so fast that they heat the air to extreme temperatures, causing it to glow. We see that glow as a bright streak of light streaking across the sky.

The peak of the meteor shower occurs when our planet passes through the middle of the debris stream, where the dust is thickest. 

“Earth begins to pass through the wide dust stream of comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle from around 14 July, a passage that concludes around 1 September,” says Lawrence.

Read more:

A new research paper featured on the cover of Volume 17, Issue 7 of Aging (Aging-US) was published on July 25, 2025, titled “Systemic factors in young human serum influence in vitro responses of human skin and bone marrow-derived blood cells in a microphysiological co-culture system.”

The study, led by first author Johanna Ritter and corresponding author Elke Grönniger from Beiersdorf AG, Research and Development Hamburg, shows that components in young human blood serum can help restore youthful properties to skin, but only when bone marrow cells are also present. This discovery highlights the role of bone marrow in supporting skin health and may allow for novel approaches aimed at slowing or reversing visible signs of aging.

The research explored how factors present in blood serum, already known to influence aging in animal studies, act on human cells. Using an advanced system that mimics human circulation, the researchers connected a 3D skin model with a 3D bone marrow model. They found that young human serum alone was not enough to rejuvenate skin. However, when bone marrow cells were present, these serum factors changed the activity of those cells, which then secreted proteins that rejuvenated skin tissue.

“Interestingly, we detected a significant increase in Ki67 positive cells in the dynamic skin model co-cultured with BM model and young serum compared to the model co-cultured with BM and old serum, indicating an improved regenerative capacity of the tissue.”

Detailed analysis indicated that young serum stimulated the bone marrow to produce a group of 55 proteins, with 7 of them demonstrating the ability to boost cell renewal, collagen production, and other features associated with youthful skin. These proteins included factors that improved energy production in cells and reduced signs of cellular aging. Without the interaction between skin and bone marrow cells, these rejuvenating effects did not occur.

This finding explains why earlier experiments in mice, where young and old animals shared a blood supply, showed rejuvenation across organs. It suggests that bone marrow-derived cells are critical messengers that transform signals from blood into effects on other tissues, including the skin.

While these results are preclinical and not from human trials, they offer a starting point for new strategies in regenerative medicine and skin care. By identifying specific proteins that may carry rejuvenating signals, the study points to a new way to address age-related changes. Researchers emphasize that further studies will be needed to confirm these effects in humans and to test how these proteins can be safely and effectively applied in future therapies.

Overall, this research is an important step in understanding how young blood serum factors influence human tissue and could guide the development of novel methods to maintain healthier skin as people age.

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Infrared imaging is crucial for applications such as surveillance, search and rescue missions, healthcare and autonomous vehicles, offering the ability to visualize what the human eye cannot. Infrared technology is effective at detecting body heat, gas leaks and water content, even in conditions like smoke or darkness. However, a major challenge arises in the design of infrared cameras: they require electrical contacts to capture and transmit the images they detect.

Many materials that can conduct electrical signals, like metals, block infrared radiation, creating a fundamental conflict in the device’s design. Researchers at NYU Tandon School of Engineering have developed a new solution: a transparent electrode made by embedding tiny silver wires into a transparent plastic matrix. This design allows infrared detectors to function without blocking infrared light.

New electrode material improves infrared imaging

The team’s work, recently published in the Journal of Materials Chemistry C, addresses this fundamental issue in infrared detector technology. The electrode material is made by embedding silver nanowires, each about the width of a human hair, into a polymer matrix, creating a transparent, flexible material that can be easily applied to conventional infrared detectors.

The novel electrode is a significant advancement, offering better performance than traditional materials like indium tin oxide (ITO) or thin metal films, which either suffer from poor electrical properties or lack transparency at longer infrared wavelengths.

“We’ve developed a material that solves a fundamental problem that has been limiting infrared detector design,” said Ayaskanta Sahu, associate professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (CBE) at NYU Tandon and the study’s senior author. “Our transparent electrode material works well across the infrared spectrum, giving engineers more flexibility in how they build these devices.”

Enhancing infrared detectors with quantum dots

To test their material, the team implemented it into infrared cameras that use colloidal quantum dots – semiconductor particles that exhibit unique optical properties – as their active material. Quantum dots have recently garnered attention due to their role in technologies such as QLED television displays, as well as being the subject of the 2023 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. For their study, the researchers used mercury telluride quantum dots, which respond to infrared light. 

The silver nanowires, embedded in a polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) matrix, form conductive networks even at low concentrations. The nanowires’ diameter is around 120 nanometers, with lengths between 10 and 30 micrometers. These networks allow infrared radiation to pass through the transparent electrode, while the nanowires simultaneously serve as the necessary wiring for electrical currents. The material is also flexible and can be manufactured at low temperatures, which is essential for the production of quantum dot-based detectors.

“Conventional electrodes in the infrared are like blackout curtains – most of the signal never reaches the sensor,” said graduate researcher Shlok J. Paul, a co-author on the study. “Our near-invisible web of silver nanowires lets more infrared photons in while doubling as the wiring that carries the electrical current needed to turn the invisible light into data. While there is more work to be done, the simplicity of this flexible layer could carry IR detection from the lab to commercial applications like for firefighter vision or self-driving cars.”

The researchers have filed a U.S. patent application covering their method of embedding silver nanowires in a polymer matrix for transparent infrared electrodes.

This work represents a significant step forward in the development of infrared imaging technologies, with potential uses across various fields, including safety and autonomous systems.

Reference: Paul SJ, Mølnås H, Farrell SL, Parashar N, Riedo E, Sahu A. Plenty of room at the top: exploiting nanowire – polymer synergies in transparent electrodes for infrared imagers. J Mater Chem C. 2025;13(21):10592-10601. doi: 10.1039/D5TC00581G

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“A deep layer of warm seawater is literally taller than a shallow layer of warm water,” said Josh Willis, Sentinel-6B project scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. So sea surface height can be used as a proxy for the amount of heat in the ocean.

Fueling Hurricanes

There are two main ways that forecasters use sea level measurements, said Mark DeMaria, a senior research scientist at Colorado State University in Fort Collins. One way is to help set the proper ocean conditions in ocean-atmosphere hurricane forecast models utilized by the National Hurricane Center.

The second way is by feeding sea level data into machine learning models that forecasters use to predict whether a hurricane will undergo rapid intensification, where its wind speeds increase by 35 mph (56 kph) or more within 24 hours. Meteorologists include both water temperature measurements from sensors drifting in the ocean and sea surface height data collected by Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich as well as other satellites.

Hurricanes churn the ocean as they pass overhead, mixing the top layers of seawater. If the storm encounters a shallow pool of warm seawater, its winds can stir things up, pulling cooler waters from the depths to the surface. This can hinder rapid intensification. But if the warm pool of seawater extends deep into the ocean, those winds will only stir up more warm water, potentially resulting in the hurricane’s rapid intensification.

“Hurricane Milton is a perfect example of this,” said DeMaria, who was previously a branch chief at the National Hurricane Center in Miami and helped to develop hurricane intensity forecast models. Milton experienced an intense period of rapid intensification — an event that was forecast using a model fed partly with data from Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich. From Oct. 6 to Oct. 7, 2024, Milton exploded from a Category 1 hurricane to a Category 5, producing wind speeds as high as 180 mph (289 kph). The storm weakened to a Category 3 — still a major hurricane — by the time it made landfall near Sarasota, Florida, on Oct. 9.

Forecast Improvements

While the U.S.-European series of sea level satellites began collecting measurements in 1992, it wasn’t until the early 2000s that meteorologists started working with data from satellites in operational hurricane intensity forecasts such as the ones used by the National Hurricane Center. Before then, forecasts relied on models and ocean surface temperature measurements that weren’t always able to identify warm, deep pools of seawater that could induce rapid intensification in a hurricane.

Improvement efforts got a boost when the U.S. federal government started a program in 2007 aimed at advancing these types of forecasts. Since then, the program has helped move improvements made in the research realm — such as in hurricane forecast reliability and accuracy, extensions in the lead time for predictions, and reduced forecast uncertainty — into operational use.

The investment has been money well spent, said Renato Molina, an economist at the University of Miami who has analyzed the economic impact of improving hurricane forecasts. An accurate, timely forecast can give communities time to prepare, such as by boarding up homes and businesses or evacuating an area. The monetary savings can reach into the billions, he added.

While a host of atmospheric and oceanic characteristics go into hurricane forecasts, the inclusion of sea level data from satellites like Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich and, soon, Sentinel-6B has been an important addition. “We need data from sensors in the ocean as well as satellite data — they go hand-in-hand,” said DeMaria. “It would be impossible to do what we do without the satellites.”

More About Sentinel-6B

Sentinel-6/Jason-CS was jointly developed by ESA, EUMETSAT, NASA, and NOAA, with funding support from the European Commission and technical support from France’s space agency CNES (Centre National d’Études Spatiales).

NASA JPL, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, 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 U.S. members of the international Ocean Surface Topography Science Team.

For more about Sentinel-6/Jason-CS, visit:

https://sealevel.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/jason-cs-sentinel-6