This Ocean forecasting system could generate crucial forecast information, such as ocean circulation, sea surface temperature, wave height, to serve the needs of a variety of human activities related to marine hazards mitigation, oil and gas exploration, fisheries, navigation, marine parks management and coastal recreational activities.

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Drought: a nationwide heat wave that broke 3, 215 high temperature daily records this past June.

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Wave Glider robots, like Alex, could potentially improve such forecasts by measuring water temperature in the oceans surrounding a storm.

FORBES: Hurricane Isaac: Robot 'Alex' Rides Waves To Help Forecasting

Based on the Phoenix lander, the craft is tasked with giving us a peek beneath the planet's surface, armed with tools that include a geodetic instrument from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which will be used to calculate Mars' rotation axis, a seismic wave sensor and a subsurface heat probe, to measure the planet's internal temperature.

ENGADGET: NASA InSight tapped for Mars drilling mission in 2016