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California Institute of Technology
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Arctic
Source:
Laurence C. Smith
Published:
May 7, 2014
Arctic
ENLARGE
Related
The U.K. Space Agency will provide a part of the radar payload for SWOT.
United Kingdom Space Agency
A Flooded Forest in the Amazon
A Flooded Forest in the Amazon
NASA’s Blue Marble
NASA's Blue Marble
Siberian Lakes
Siberian Lakes
A diagram illustrating the swaths of data that SWOT will collect.
Diagram of SWOT Data Collection
The SWOT satellite observatory is being jointly built by NASA and Centre National D’Études Spatiales (CNES).
NASA
Lake Calado, Amazon
Lake Calado, 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
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 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.
A view of SWOT as it was being loaded into a U.S. Air Force C-17 aircraft en route to Thales Alenia Space near 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.
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...
SWOT Science Orbit
A photograph of the Varzea Forest area of Brazil (4 of 4).
Varzea Forest, Brazil
A photograph of the Varzea Forest area of Brazil (3 of 4).
Varzea Forest, Brazil
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)
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.
Probing the Depths of "SWOT in a Box"
Disappearing lakes in Barrow, Alaska.
Disappearing Lakes in Barrow, Alaska
Alaska lakes.
Alaska Lakes
Amazon Fishermen
Amazon Fishermen
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.
Soccer Nets on a levee in the Amazon
Soccer Nets on a Levee in the Amazon
This SWOT "Bannerbug" exhibit was created for display during hardware tests conducted during an eleven-day period in October 2008.
SWOT Banner on Display
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.
An early rendering of the SWOT spacecraft (February 2011).
SWOT Spacecraft (Artist Concept)
