NASA, on December 16, launched a SWOT satellite from California at 6:46 am that will perform an unprecedented survey of the world’s oceans, rivers, and lakes for the first time. The SWOT satellite, which stands for Surface Water and Ocean Topography, is an advanced radar satellite that aims to provide scientists with a deeper understanding of the water covering the planet and how climate change affects the oceans and life on Earth. It will measure over a million lakes and rivers on Earth.