April 29, 2024

Meet the People Behind NASA’s Incredible New SWOT Water-Tracking Satellite

Clockwise from leading left, Tahani Amer, Marc Simard, Christine Gebara, and Cedric David are the subjects of a new video series about the NASA researchers and engineers who deal with the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite, which will track most of Earths water. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
In addition, the mission will improve researchers understanding of how water level increase will affect shorelines worldwide and individuals who live near them. SWOT will also see ocean functions too little for current space-based instruments to discover, enhancing scientists understanding of their function in environment modification.
See the series trailer here:
Satisfy some of the engineers and scientists adding to a new Earth science mission, led by NASA and the French space company Centre National dÉtudes Spatiales (CNES). The Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite will make the first worldwide survey of nearly all water on Earths surface area. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
More than a maker, SWOT is the conclusion of years of work by an international team of scientists, service technicians, and engineers committed to enhancing our understanding of our home world. In this video series, you can satisfy employee from NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, which handles the U.S. portion of the objective, and from the companys headquarters in Washington as they describe why working on SWOT means a lot to them:
Cedric David

Marc Simard, a researcher who studies river deltas where they meet the ocean, talks about how he developed a passion for the environment in college, switching from a planned career in astrophysics to developing tools to study Earth. Among Simards favorite features of SWOT is that its information will assist researchers much better understand how water level increase will affect coastal deltas all over the world.

Cedric David, a hydrologist who studies the worlds rivers, shares how water is the only place he feels genuinely comfortable since of physical obstacles. As Cedric notes, SWOT will provide a worldwide image of freshwater resources and assist enhance water management, which is why he is so proud to assist make a difference in securing this valuable resource.
Christine Gebara

The clinical heart of the SWOT satellite is the Ka-band Radar Interferometer (KaRIn) instrument, which will determine the height of water in Earths lakes, rivers, reservoirs, and ocean. Installed at the ends of a boom 33 feet (10 meters) long, the antennas will collect information over 2 swaths of Earths surface at a time, each of them 30 miles (50 kilometers) situated and large on either side of the satellite. KaRIn will operate in 2 modes: A lower-resolution mode over the ocean will involve substantial onboard processing of the information to decrease the volume of details sent out throughout downlinks to Earth; a higher-resolution mode will be utilized primarily over land.
A new video series highlights the effort and enthusiasm of engineers and scientists who helped get this remarkable brand-new satellite off the ground.
On December 16, 2022, the worldwide Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) objective launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. A brand-new video series focuses on some of the engineers and scientists behind the satellite, which will be the very first to observe almost all water on Earths surface.
Led by NASA and the French area firm Centre National dÉtudes Spatiales (CNES), SWOT will measure the height of water in lakes, rivers, tanks, and the ocean. The SUV-size satellite will improve scientists capability to track the movement of water around the globe while providing data that will help communities plan and keep an eye on for altering water resources.

Tahani Amer, the missions program executive, recalls growing up near Cairo, where her dad motivated her to study math and science– an atypical pursuit for girls in Egypt at the time. Today, she supervises several NASA Earth science objectives, consisting of SWOT. In the video, Amer shares how shes been inspired by her Islamic faith, her family, and her associates.
Marc Simard

Christine Gebara, a mechanical engineer who assisted test and integrate the spacecraft, informs the story of how she fell for engineering while finding out to cruise with the Girl Scouts on a lake near her youth house in Houston. She exposes what influences her most about building a spacecraft and provides suggestions for girls thinking about engineering.
Tahani Amer

The scientific heart of the SWOT satellite is the Ka-band Radar Interferometer (KaRIn) instrument, which will measure the height of water in Earths lakes, rivers, tanks, and ocean. Mounted at the ends of a boom 33 feet (10 meters) long, the antennas will collect data over 2 swaths of Earths surface at a time, each of them 30 miles (50 kilometers) located and wide on either side of the satellite. KaRIn will operate in two modes: A lower-resolution mode over the ocean will involve considerable onboard processing of the data to lower the volume of info sent during downlinks to Earth; a higher-resolution mode will be used mainly over land. The Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite will make the very first worldwide survey of almost all water on Earths surface area. Today, she manages a number of NASA Earth science missions, consisting of SWOT.