Aquarius/SAC-D Mission. NASA public domain image colelction.

Gary Lagerloef, left, Aquarius Principal Investigator, Earth & Space Research, Seattle, speaks at a press conference on NASA's Aquarius/SAC-D mission to study the salinity of Earth's oceans from space on Tuesday, May 17, 2011 at NASA Headquarters in Washington. The mission is a collaboration between NASA and Argentina's space agency Comision Nacional de Actividades Especiales (CONAE), with participation from Brazil, Canada, France and Italy. The Aquarius/SAC-D observatory will launch June 9, 2011 from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Photo Credit: (NASA/Carla Cioffi)