JPL Director Charles Elachi
"Do not go where the path may lead," wrote Ralph Waldo Emerson. "Go instead where there is no path, and leave a trail." That could be the motto of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Trailblazing has been the business of JPL since it was established by the California Institute of Technology in the 1930s. America's first satellite, Explorer 1 which launched in 1958, was created at JPL. In the decades that followed, we sent the first robotic craft to the moon and out across the solar system, reconnoitering all of the planets. Pushing the outer edge of exploration, in fact, is the reason JPL exists as a NASA laboratory.
In that spirit, this is an exceptionally busy period for JPL in laying new paths. An exciting step in the search for exoplanets took place recently when we launched Kepler, a spaceborne telescope that will seek out Earth-like planets as they pass in front of other stars. JPL contributed key technology to two European Space Agency spacecraft launched together in May, Herschel and Planck. Later this year we will launch another observatory, the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer. They join our currently operational Spitzer Space Telescope and Galaxy Evolution Explorer astronomical missions.
Among our robotic spacecraft arrayed across the solar system, Dawn is using ion propulsion to take it into orbit around two bodies for the first time ever -- the large asteroid Vesta and the dwarf planet Ceres. Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is returning exceptionally detailed photos of the Red Planet's surface, while the rovers Spirit and Opportunity keep going far beyond the mission they were originally designed for. Last year the Phoenix lander successfully found water ice on Mars' arctic plains. The flagship explorer Cassini continues its orbits of Saturn, scrutinizing the ringed planet and its moons, including the haze-shrouded Titan in an extended mission. The Voyagers are exploring the edge of our solar system.
Closer to home, a contingent of Earth-orbiting satellites monitors the lands, oceans and atmosphere of our own planet, returning important information on topics ranging from atmospheric ozone to El Nino events. These include the Jason 2 satellite launched last year on a joint U.S./French mission to monitor Earth's oceans.
In total, JPL has 20 spacecraft and nine instruments conducting active missions. All of these are part of NASA's program of exploration of Earth and space with plans to send robots and humans to explore the moon, Mars and beyond. These ventures would not be possible without NASA's Deep Space Network managed by JPL. This international network of antenna complexes on several continents serves as the communication gateway between distant spacecraft and the Earth-based teams that guide them. While carrying out these exploration missions, JPL also conducts a number of space technology demonstrations in support of national security and develops technologies for uses on Earth in fields from public safety to medicine, capitalizing on NASA's investment in space technology.
The stories of these mighty things we dare are told in the pages that begin here.
Dr. Charles Elachi
Director
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
4800 Oak Grove Drive
Pasadena, California 91109
(818) 354-4321
Aerial View of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory
