It is hoped that the French-American SWOT satellite, which will be launched on Thursday, will contribute to enhancing the available information on the water cycle and providing a greater understanding of its impact on the climate, after a previous moon provided light on the El Niño phenomenon in 1994.
The Topix-Poseidon satellite mission is of great importance in the eyes of the French Space Agency and its American counterpart, NASA, which have been cooperating in this field for 30 years, especially since the budget allocated to it amounts to one billion dollars.
This cooperation was discussed during French President Emmanuel Macron's visit to NASA headquarters in Washington on November 30.
A SpaceX rocket launched from Vandenberg Base in California will put the giant 2.2-ton satellite into orbit.
Once in space, the mission of SWOT, which stands for Topography of Surface Water and Oceans, will be to measure the surface water level of oceans, lakes and rivers.
For this purpose, the satellite was equipped with a tool that is considered a revolution in this field, which is a wide-band interferometer called “KaRin”, consisting of two radars separated by ten meters, which conduct a survey of the water surface, on a wide range of 120 kilometers, providing savings. 2D image.