[15-Jan-2015] Launch, deploy and scan pattern of the Earth-observing Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) satellite, rendered prior to its January 31, 2015 launch. SMAP will take stock of the water hidden just beneath your feet, in the topsoil. Knowing how much water is in the soil, and whether it is frozen or thawed, has profound applications for society, from better forecasting of natural disasters like floods and droughts to helping prevent food shortages. SMAP will also be able to map sea surface salinity with unprecedented resolution over Earth's oceans - a follow-on salinity sensor to the pioneering Aquarius satellite, which retired in 2015.