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Jet Propulsion Laboratory
California Institute of Technology
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Arctic
Source:
Laurence C. Smith
Published:
May 7, 2014
Arctic
ENLARGE
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Engineers integrate separate parts of the SWOT satellite into one in a Thales Alenia Space clean room facility in Cannes, France.
Part of the SWOT satellite's science instrument payload in a clean room at a Thales facility.
Arctic Lakes
Arctic Lakes
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
A photograph of the Varzea Forest area of Brazil (4 of 4).
Varzea Forest, Brazil
NASA’s Blue Marble
NASA's Blue Marble
Soccer Nets on a levee in the Amazon
Soccer Nets on a Levee in the Amazon
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
A photograph of the Varzea Forest area of Brazil (3 of 4).
Varzea Forest, Brazil
The SWOT satellite observatory is being jointly built by NASA and Centre National D’Études Spatiales (CNES).
NASA
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
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...
SWOT's scientific payload loading into a U.S. Air Force C-17 airplane for transport to Cannes, France.
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.
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.
Part of the SWOT satellite's science instrument payload in a clean room at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
An early rendering of the SWOT spacecraft (February 2011).
SWOT Spacecraft (Artist Concept)
The SWOT Payload module consists of two primary components: the Ka-band Radar Interferometer (KaRIn) and the Nadir module.
SWOT Payload
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.
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 diagram illustrating the swaths of data that SWOT will collect.
Diagram of SWOT Data Collection
An artist’s concept of the SWOT spacecraft (February 2015).
SWOT Spacecraft (Artist Concept)
Amazon Fishermen
Amazon Fishermen
A photograph of the Amazon River Delta, captured by Landsat in 2006.
Landsat view of Amazon Delta
Floodplain Channel in the Amazon
Floodplain Channel in the Amazon
A photograph of the Varzea Forest area of Brazil (2 of 4).
Varzea Forest, Brazil
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