# Michael Freilich

Michael H. Freilich (January 14, 1954 – August 5, 2020) was an American oceanographer who served as director of the NASA Earth Science division from 2006–2019.In January 2020, NASA announced that the Sentinel-6A Oceanography mission was being renamed the Sentinel-6 michael freilich in his honor. Freilich played a key role in establishing the international partnership behind this mission. Thomas Zurbuchen, head of NASA's Science Mission Directorate (SMD), paid tribute to him as follows: "Mike Freilich exemplified the commitment to excellence, generosity of spirit and the unmatched ability to inspire trust that made so many people across the world want to work with NASA, to advance big goals on behalf of the planet and its people".