There's a slick radar map that can show what the clouds will be up to at a specific time.

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As for Endeavour and her mission to create a radar map of the earth: with wiring inspections 90 percent complete on the orbiter NASA lovingly calls OV-105, she is scheduled to launch on January 13.

CNN: shuttle

Scientists can already study earthquakes from space, in particular through the use of radar to map the deformation of the ground that results when faults rupture.

BBC: Japan quake 'heard at edge of space'

Overall, our approach is to map technologies on a radar diagram that projects their maturity in terms of general availability.

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S-class is an example, with an onboard navigation system to map your route, radar to watch the road ahead and automatic cruise control.

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Each missile comes with a terrain contour matching radar, which compares a stored map reference with the actual terrain to fix the missile's position.

BBC: Tomahawk cruise missile

Super Cruise is designed to ease the driver's workload on the freeway, in both bumper-to-bumper traffic and on long road trips by relying on a fusion of radar, ultrasonic sensors, cameras and GPS map data.

ENGADGET: Cadillac road tests self-driving Super Cruise tech, could hit highways by mid-decade

Despite the advent of GPS, radar technology and 3-D computer software, an exquisitely hand-drawn map and carefully collected data often can outdo what a couple of whiz kids can find on a laptop.

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Two German radar satellites are now flying in tight formation as they prepare to make the most detailed ever 3D map of the Earth's entire surface.

BBC: German radar satellites fly tight space waltz

Using radar imagery collected from nine years of Cassini flybys, researchers were able to patch together the first global topographic map of Titan, published in the July 2013 issue of Icarus.

ENGADGET