Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Lithograph JPL 400-857 9/99
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At the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), we search for answers to profound questions: How did the universe begin? Is there life elsewhere? How is our Earth changing? Are there other habitable worlds orbiting nearby stars? Through innovation and new technology, we explore Earth, neighboring planets and stars, our galaxy, and the universe with robotic spacecraft and orbiting telescopes, and with powerful instruments on Earth. Our spacecraft have visited every planet in the solar system except Pluto, and every day, we are in communication with spacecraft exploring the planets and beyond. We have sent landers, orbiters, and a rover to Mars; we have developed a probe that will capture particles from the heart of a comet and return them to Earth. Studies of Earth's surface, interior, oceans, and atmosphere have produced major leaps in our understanding of the environment in which we live - from El Nino to the ozone hole.
Technology Benefits
The new technology developed for Earth and space science missions benefits us in our everyday lives. For instance, robotics developed for spacecraft are being tested for robotassisted microsurgery, where instruments can perform delicate movements that humans cannot match. Computer processing techniques used to study images of the planets have been adapted for specialized studies and assessments of the human body. A widely used infrared ear thermometer that measures body temperature is a direct spin-off of our development of sensors to study other planets.A Brief Look Back
JPL has its roots in the 1930s - it was then that a group of students from the California Institute of Technology began experimenting with liquid-propellant rockets in Pasadena's Arroyo Seco. Then, in 1958, JPL and the U. S. Army sent the United States' first satellite, Explorer 1, into orbit around Earth. That year, the Laboratory became associated with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and has managed a number of significant space exploration missions: the Ranger lunar photoreconnaissance missions; the Surveyor lunar landers; the Mariner series that explored Mars, Venus, and Mercury; the Viking Mars orbiters and landers; the Voyager missions to Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and interstellar space; the Magellan mission to map the surface of Venus; the Galileo mission to explore Jupiter and its moons; the Ulysses mission to the Sun; the TOPEX/Poseidon and NASA Scatterometer missions to study Earth's oceans; the Spaceborne Imaging Radar missions to study Earth's surface; and the Mars Pathfinder mission that landed a rover on the surface of Mars.JPL Today
JPL is building five of the instruments for the Earth Observing System, which will study our home planet. The SeaWinds instrument on the QuikSCAT satellite will collect wind data over the oceans that will be made available to weather forecasters within three hours of observation. The Cassini mission is on its way to Saturn, where it will do extensive analysis and send a probe to the moon Titan. The Deep Space 1 mission has validated exciting new technologies, such as ion propulsion for future spacecraft. Stardust is on its way to Comet Wild 2, to capture comet nucleus particles and return them to Earth. Mars Global Surveyor, currently orbiting Mars, is studying surface features, the atmosphere, and magnetic properties. And Mars Polar Lander and Mars Climate Orbiter were launched in late 1998 and early 1999.
JPL's Future
Advances in technology and innovation have ushered in an exciting new era of more rapid and less expensive access to space. JPL personnel are working on more than 30 exploration missions and instruments that will continue to expand and challenge our notions about Earth, the solar system, and the universe. With the promise offered by new measurement techniques such as interferometry, advances in sample-return techniques, and challenges like robotic outposts, JPL is poised to continue its tradition of excellence into the new millennium.About the Laboratory
JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology, is a lead research and development center for NASA. The Laboratory has a wideranging charter for solar system exploration, Earth observation, astrophysical research, and technology development, and employs approximately 5,000 engineers, scientists, and support personnel. JPL also manages and operates NASA's Deep Space Network, a worldwide system that communicates with spacecraft and conducts radar and radio astronomy studies. The Laboratory is located on a 176-acre site in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains near Pasadena, California.
1. Mars Panorama
2. Mars Global Surveyor
3. Mars Climate Orbiter
4. JPL
5. Mars Polar Lander
6. TOPEX/Poseidon's El Nino Watch
7. Pluto
8. Stardust
9. Cassini Spacecraft at Saturn
10. Deep Space 1
11. Galileo at Europa
12. Surface of Venus
13. 70-m antenna
14. Neptune, Uranus, Saturn, Jupiter
15. Imaging Radar View of Los Angeles
16. Star-Birth Clouds in the Eagle NebulaOur values, which are deeply rooted in the JPL culture, are openness of our people and processes, integrity of the individual and the institution, quality of our products and our people, and innovation in our processes and products.
