Landsat view of Amazon Delta

A diagram illustrating the swaths of data that SWOT will collect. 

A Flooded Forest in the Amazon

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

The logo for the Surface Water Ocean Topography (SWOT) Mission.

Engineers integrate separate parts of the SWOT satellite into one in a Thales Alenia Space clean room facility in Cannes, France.

NASA’s Blue Marble

A photograph of the Varzea Forest area of Brazil (1 of 4).

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 of Mexico within a wooden box.

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...

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.  

This SWOT "Bannerbug" exhibit was created for display during hardware tests conducted during an eleven-day period in October 2008.

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.

Arctic

Artist's impression of the future SWOT satellite making sea surface height observations, even through clouds.

SWOT technologies - advanced wide-swath technology, ocean and surface water topography measurements, and high-resolution products - will support such societal needs as dams, shipping, and surface w...

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.

A photograph of the Varzea Forest area of Brazil (3 of 4).

Disappearing lakes in Barrow, Alaska.

An alternate logo for the Surface Water Ocean Topography (SWOT) Mission.

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...

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

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

SWOT is being jointly developed by NASA and Centre National D’Études Spatiales (CNES).

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

Amazon Fishermen