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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
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).
Canadian Space Agency
Siberian Lakes
Siberian Lakes
An artist’s concept of the SWOT spacecraft (February 2015).
SWOT Spacecraft (Artist Concept)
An image of the original concept for the Water and Terrestrial Elevation Recovery (WATER) Mission, which later became SWOT.
WATER Mission Concept Illustration
AirSWOT is using parts of Saskatchewan as a testing ground for mapping water levels.
The Saskatchewan River and Prairie Potholes
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
Disappearing lakes in Barrow, Alaska.
Disappearing Lakes in Barrow, Alaska
A photograph of the Varzea Forest area of Brazil (4 of 4).
Varzea Forest, Brazil
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.
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" ...
SWOT Exhibit at JPL Open House
The U.K. Space Agency will provide a part of the radar payload for SWOT.
United Kingdom Space Agency
A banner explaining the purpose of the SWOT mission, created and displayed during testing.
Understanding Surface Water Characteristics and Ocean Dynamics
A photograph of the Amazon River Delta, captured by Landsat in 2006.
Landsat view of Amazon Delta
Artist’s concept of seven altimeters orbiting Earth: Jason-CS/Sentinel-6B, SWOT, Sentinel-6A, Jason 3, TOPEX/Poseidon, Jason 1 and OSTM/Jason 2.
Altimeter Series
Lake Calado, Amazon
Lake Calado, Amazon
Artist's impression of the future SWOT satellite making sea surface height observations, even through clouds.
Artist's Impression of the SWOT Satellite
A photograph of the Varzea Forest area of Brazil (2 of 4).
Varzea Forest, Brazil
NASA has selected Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) of Hawthorne, California, to provide launch services for SWOT.
SpaceX Launch Vehicle
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.
AirSWOT Platform
An early rendering of the SWOT spacecraft (February 2011).
SWOT Spacecraft (Artist Concept)
This SWOT "Bannerbug" exhibit was created for display during hardware tests conducted during an eleven-day period in October 2008.
SWOT Banner on Display
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.
Northern Alberta Lakes, Canada
This collaborative mission poster, designed by CNES (French Space Agency), shows the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite soaring over an abstract of a water molecule.
Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) Mission Poster
A diagram illustrating the swaths of data that SWOT will collect.
Diagram of SWOT Data Collection