Lake Calado, Amazon

A diagram illustrating the swaths of data that SWOT will collect. 

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.

Emblem for the SWOT mission.

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...

The Canadian Space Agency will contribute to the SWOT Mission by providing a high-power assembly component for SWOT’s Ka-band Radar Interferometer (KaRIn).

Amazon Fishermen

Floodplain Channel in the Amazon

The SWOT Payload module consists of two primary components: the Ka-band Radar Interferometer (KaRIn) and the Nadir module.

A Flooded Forest in the Amazon

Teams from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California and the March Air Reserve Base in Riverside County, California, loaded the scientific payload for the SWOT Earth-observing satelli...

A photograph of the Varzea Forest area of Brazil (2 of 4).

SWOT leaving NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, en route to March Air Reserve Base in Riverside County, California. Once the scientific payload arrived, it was sent to a Thale...

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

Arctic Lakes

SWOT technologies - advanced wide-swath technology, ocean and surface water topography measurements, and high-resolution products - will support such societal needs as dams, shipping, and surface w...

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

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

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

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

Crowds flock to the Earth Sciences exhibits during the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) "Open House" event, giving volunteers (red shirts) a chance to share information about their various miss...

Highly visible in their red shirts, SWOT project team members - including Project Manager Parag Vaze at left - interact with the public during the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) "Open House" ...

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

NASA’s Blue Marble

SWOT will provide NASA’s first global survey of Earth’s surface water.