Lake Calado, Amazon

SWOT Applications Lead, Margaret Srinivasan, helps young visitors match data user types - from coastal safety officers to farmers - with pictures representing SWOT applications.

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

Visiting Scout uses a color-coded, calibrated stick to determine "sea surface topography" within a wooden box while his sister records his results by placing stickers on a card.

Artist's impression of the future SWOT satellite making sea surface height observations, even through clouds.

A Flooded Forest in the Amazon

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...

Siberian Lakes

Arctic Lakes

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

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

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

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.  

SWOT will collect data across a 75-mile (120-kilometer) wide swath, with a gap in the center for an altimetry track. This animation shows the collection of data over the state of Florida, which is ...

Amazon Fishermen

An early rendering of the SWOT spacecraft (February 2011).

Soccer Nets on a levee in the Amazon

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

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

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

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

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

NASA’s Blue Marble

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).

SWOT's nominal coverage during its 3-year science orbit will include measurements between 78°N and 78°S collected over a period of 21 days. Maps show the coverage after 3 days (left) and the full 2...