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California Institute of Technology
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Arctic
Source:
Laurence C. Smith
Published:
May 7, 2014
Arctic
ENLARGE
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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...
SWOT Spacecraft Bus
An artist’s concept of the SWOT spacecraft (January 2012).
SWOT Spacecraft (Artist Concept)
Soccer Nets on a levee in the Amazon
Soccer Nets on a Levee in the Amazon
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...
SWOT cryosphere animation: sea ice freeboard
A diagram illustrating the swaths of data that SWOT will collect.
Diagram of SWOT Data Collection
Amazon Fishermen
Amazon Fishermen
A photograph of the Varzea Forest area of Brazil (1 of 4).
Varzea Forest, Brazil
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.
"SWOT in a Box" Reveal - Gulf Stream Model
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...
SWOT 1-Day Repeat Orbit
The logo for the Surface Water Ocean Topography (SWOT) Mission.
SWOT Mission Logo
Lake Calado, Amazon
Lake Calado, Amazon
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 ...
This animation shows a simulation of SWOT collecting data over the state of Florida.
A Flooded Forest in the Amazon
A Flooded Forest in the Amazon
A banner explaining the purpose of the SWOT mission, created and displayed during testing.
Understanding Surface Water Characteristics and Ocean Dynamics
Floodplain Channel in the Amazon
Floodplain Channel in the Amazon
The SWOT satellite observatory is being jointly built by NASA and Centre National D’Études Spatiales (CNES).
NASA
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...
Team members who helped load the hardware onto a C-17 aircraft for SWOT's transfer from Southern, Calif. to Cannes France.
An early rendering of the SWOT spacecraft (February 2011).
SWOT Spacecraft (Artist Concept)
Artist's impression of the future SWOT satellite making sea surface height observations, even through clouds.
Artist's Impression of the SWOT Satellite
Emblem for the SWOT mission.
SWOT Emblem
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...
SWOT leaving NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California en route to March Air Reserve Base.
SWOT will provide NASA’s first global survey of Earth’s surface water.
SWOT (Animated Gif)
NASA’s Blue Marble
NASA's Blue Marble
NASA has selected Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) of Hawthorne, California, to provide launch services for SWOT.
SpaceX Launch Vehicle
A photograph of the Amazon River Delta, captured by Landsat in 2006.
Landsat view of Amazon Delta
