On any given day, approximately 5,000 scientists, engineers, and support personnel are hard at work at Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), located in Pasadena, Calif. The Laboratory has a wide-ranging charter for solar system exploration, Earth observation, astrophysical research, and technology development.
JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology, is a Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC) of NASA. The Laboratory manages NASA's Deep Space Network, a worldwide system of antennas that communicates with spacecraft and conducts radar and radio astronomy studies. JPL is also NASA's lead center for robotic missions, such as Mars Science Laboratory (MSL), a long-term effort of robotic exploration of the Red Planet.
Preparation for one phase of testing of the Mars Science Laboratory rover, Curiosity.
Motivated by the demands of space missions, JPL scientists and engineers push the boundaries of design and technology for smaller size, better performance, and less power consumption in a cost-constrained environment. Many hardware, software, and materials technologies developed at JPL have direct applications within the fields of healthcare, energy, security and consumer electronics. For example, JPL is working with healthcare developers and institutions on technology applications to help properly diagnose patients as well as spot and treat the signs of early detection. Other partnerships in progress include fuel cell technology and thermoelectrics for the automotive industry, robotics for the mining industry, and actuation and drilling technology for the construction and remodeling industry.
JPL also has advanced expertise in supercomputing, cluster computing, cloud computing, as well as unique science data analysis, modeling, simulation, and software reliability tools. Driven by demands for mission safety and precise science, JPL is known to have some of the highest-quality and most sensitive integration and test facilities in the western hemisphere.
For more information on Jet Propulsion Laboratory, visit jpl.nasa.gov.
Advertisement
