SWOT Emblem

A view of SWOT from inside a U.S. Air Force C-17 aircraft, as it was being loaded en route to Thales Alenia Space near Cannes, France.

Part of the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite's science instrument payload sits in a clean room at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory during assembly.  

Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) Open House visitors are delighted to see how well their color-coded stickers match the "sea surface topography model of the Gulf of Mexico within a wooden box.

An alternate logo for the Surface Water Ocean Topography (SWOT) Mission.

Pictured are team members who helped load the hardware for the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite's research instruments onto a C-17 airplane pose for a picture. The payload left M...

This SWOT "Bannerbug" exhibit was created for display during hardware tests conducted during an eleven-day period in October 2008.

The U.K. Space Agency will provide a part of the radar payload for SWOT.

Floodplain Channel in the Amazon

A banner explaining the purpose of the SWOT mission, created and displayed during testing.

Mounted above the Payload Module, the Spacecraft Bus is a multi-purpose platform housing many of the electronics required for the observatory to function, including components for power, propulsion...

Arctic Lakes

A photograph of the Amazon River Delta, captured by Landsat in 2006.

AirSWOT is using parts of Saskatchewan as a testing ground for mapping water levels.

SWOT is being jointly developed by NASA and Centre National D’Études Spatiales (CNES).

NASA’s Blue Marble

An artist’s concept of the SWOT spacecraft (February 2015).

An image of the original concept for the Water and Terrestrial Elevation Recovery (WATER) Mission, which later became SWOT.

Canada is home to more than 30,000 lakes including these water bodies in Northern Alberta. The abundance of surface freshwater in Canada makes it a prime target for AirSWOT investigations.

A photograph of the Varzea Forest area of Brazil (3 of 4).

The SWOT satellite observatory is being jointly built by NASA and Centre National D’Études Spatiales (CNES).

A photograph of the Varzea Forest area of Brazil (1 of 4).

An artist’s concept of the SWOT spacecraft (January 2012).

Disappearing lakes in Barrow, Alaska.

This animation shows estimates of average sea ice freeboard — or the amount of ice above the waterline — taken over a 21-day period from Aug. 8, 2023, to Jan. 14, 2024, by the Surface Water and Oce...

A Flooded Forest in the Amazon