The JAR launched a satellite as part of an observation mission and Analyze the water on the Earth’s surface.

The device was built by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the French space agency Center National d’Etudes Spatiales (CNES), and It was released on Friday December 16th.

The satellite called Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) also It benefits from contributions from the Canadian and British space agencies.

What is NASA’s SWOT space mission?

NASA reported that the device will measure the height of water in the bodies of this liquid, both sweet and salty, present on more than 90% of the earth’s surface.

The information collected is intended to provide data on how the ocean influences climate changeas well as how global warming affects lakes, rivers and reservoirs.

In addition, the study will determine how communities can prepare better in the face of natural disasters, such as floods.

The SWOT satellite was launched on a SpaceX rocket from Space Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, and will collect data on a three-year primary mission.

After a successful launch, scientists controlling it from Earth perform a series of checks and calibrations before starting data collection, which will start in about six months.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said that the hottest seas, extreme weather conditions and the most severe forest fires, they are only part of the consequences that humanity faces due to climate change.

“The climate crisis requires a global approachand SWOT is the realization of a long-standing international partnership that will ultimately better equip communities to meet these challenges.

The US agency noted that SWOT will cover the entire surface of the Earth between 78 degrees south latitude and 78 degrees north latitude at least once every 21 days.

It will send around a terabyte of raw data to scientists daily.

NASA noted that the heart of the spacecraft is an innovative instrument, called a Ka-band radar interferometer (KaRIn), which bounces radar pulses off the surface of the water and receives the return signal using two antennas installed on each side.

In this way, engineers will be able to accurately determine the height of the water surface into two strips at once, each 50 kilometers wide.

“The data that the innovation will provide is essential to better understand how air interactsEarth’s water and ecosystems, and how people can thrive on our changing planet,” said Karen St. Germain, director of NASA’s Earth Sciences Division.

The mission will give a clearer picture of the Earth’s freshwater bodies, with data for over 95% of the world’s lakes and rivers over 330 feet wide.

The NASA satellite also will provide sea level information, and it will fill observation gaps in areas where there are no tide gauges or other instruments that measure the height of the sea surface.