The first of its kind.. NASA launches a space mission to survey water on Earth and study climate change and its consequences

Weather of Arabia - In a major scientific mission, the first of its kind, the US Aeronautics and Space Administration "NASA" is launching, with international cooperation, the radar satellite (SWOT), with the aim of conducting a comprehensive survey of the world's oceans, lakes and rivers, to provide scientists with an unprecedented view of the waters that cover 70 percent of the Earth's surface area, and provides a new insight into the mechanisms and consequences of climate change.

We're now targeting no earlier than 6:46am ET (1146 UTC) on Friday, Dec. 16, for launch of the Surface Water and Ocean Topography mission. The satellite is healthy & the forecast remains favorable for liftoff on Friday morning. Follow https://t.co/4JtEJu7bET for mission updates. https://t.co/mI3IoGJ7VE

— NASA (@NASA) December 15, 2022

The Falcon 9 rocket, owned and operated by US billionaire Elon Musk's SpaceX company, is scheduled to take off on Friday (December 16) from the US Space Force base "Vandenberg", about 170 kilometers northwest of Los Angeles, to carry the satellite to orbit.

If all arrangements go according to plan, the satellite will provide research data within a few months, according to Reuters.

The satellite, which was developed over nearly 20 years, uses technology that scientists say is capable of collecting measurements of the length and surface of oceans, lakes, water reserves and rivers in high-resolution detail covering 90 percent of the world.

Researchers said the data, which will be collected by the Planetary Radar Survey at least twice every 21 days, will enhance understanding of ocean circulation patterns, underpin climate projections and help manage scarce fresh water supplies in drought-stricken regions.

"It's the first mission to monitor almost all the water on the planet," said scientist Ben Hamlington, who also heads a team involved in the study of sea level change at NASA.

One of the most important tasks of the mission is to explore how the oceans absorb heat and carbon dioxide from the atmosphere in a natural way, which leads to global warming and climate change.