NASA’s Aquarius is a satellite mission of exploration and discovery that will measure salinity – the concentration of dissolved salt – at the ocean surface, a key missing variable in satellite observations of Earth that influences ocean circulation, traces the path of freshwater around our planet and helps drive Earth’s climate. Aquarius is the primary instrument on the international Aquarius/SAC-D observatory, developed by NASA and the Space Agency of Argentina (Comisión Nacional de Actividades Espaciales, CONAE). Scheduled for launch on June 9, 2011, Aquarius will generate weekly and monthly maps of global salinity that will improve our ability to predict future climate.

The app has specific information about the science and purpose of Aquarius/SAC-D, and features daily mission news updates, images of the observatory under construction, videos and animations and a countdown timer to launch. A data view feature shows many of the factors that affect Earth’s ocean and the water cycle and for which Aquarius salinity data will be useful in improving our understanding.