Arctic Lakes

NASA has selected Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) of Hawthorne, California, to provide launch services for SWOT.

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.  

A Flooded Forest in the Amazon

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

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).

Floodplain Channel in the Amazon

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 Stream within a wooden box.

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

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

Amazon Fishermen

AirSWOT plays a key role in SWOT mission development. It allows scientists to study interferometric data before launch and thus be prepared to effectively interpret SWOT data after launch.

Alaska lakes.

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...

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.

The first 90 days of the SWOT science mission will be flown in a "fast-sampling" phase that revisits specific areas once per day. This phase will begin after a 90-day commissioning phase for engine...

Emblem for the SWOT mission.

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...

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

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...

Arctic

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

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

Disappearing lakes in Barrow, Alaska.

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

Siberian Lakes