Come learn how supersonic parachutes behave on Mars and the story behind the supersonic parachute qualification for MSL.

For information on the JPL Stories series, contact Teresa Bailey at 4-9233.

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Come here Rob describe his thoughts on why, despite incessant problems and failures, MSL ultimately found itself on the road to success.

For information on the JPL Stories series, contact Teresa Bailey at 4-9233.

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Come hear Jonathon Smith talk about ups and downs of the Cassini navigation team’s transition experience which they performed while simultaneously navigating one of the most complicated and aggressive mission profiles ever flown.

For information on the JPL Stories series, contact Teresa Bailey at 4-9233.

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Come hear Yosi Bar-Coehn talk about humanlike robots. You are going to hear what humanlike robots have been made, what they can do, and whether we should worry about having one of them.

For information on the JPL Stories series, contact Teresa Bailey at 4-9233.

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Come hear the inside scoop about Gray’s quest to uncover the mystery of JPL’s land acquisitions. The lab moved to the Arroyo when Caltech decided experimenting with highly explosive chemicals did not belong on the Caltech campus. Ever wonder what was here before JPL? Or how JPL received the property rights to construct the buildings we work in, the roads we drive on, and the lots where we park?

For information on the JPL Stories series, contact Teresa Bailey at 4-9233.

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We hear a lot about missions to the stars and the exotic interstellar drives being considered to accomplish such missions but, ultimately, it is probably the “little things” that will prove the most difficult.  Meteoroid impacts, radiation exposure, and even the political climate on Earth will likely end up being key factors in the end.  This talk provides a brief and, hopefully, entertaining primer on how we might “survive” a true interstellar trek…

For information contact Teresa Bailey at 4-9233.

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MSL is set to be ready to launch to Mars starting the day after Thanksgiving on November 25, 2011. Rob will describe his thoughts on what it takes to be “ready” to send a complex robotic mission to the surface of Mars. How does MSL’s readiness compare with other missions? Is MSL really ready to land and explore Gale crater? What keeps him up at night?

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For centuries the uniqueness of planet Earth and humanity’s place in the cosmos have been subjects of intense speculation and debate. In 2009 NASA’s Kepler Mission began a scientic quest to answer a central question: how common are Earth-size planets in the habitable zones of other stars? Come hear the story behind the project’s development, including the many challenges overcome by JPL and its partners, and an update on the ongoing search.

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Come hear the story of a British space enthusiast who went from using Photoshop in his shed to directing visualizations for EPOXI, Stardust NExT and MSL. This 10 year journey shines new light on how JPL perceives the public, and how the public perceives JPL. What does it take to turn a hobby into a career? How does that shift change your perspective on what we do, how we do it and how we share it with the world?

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Come hear the story about Mariner 4. Launched November 28, 1964 the spacecraft flew past Mars on July 14, 1965 – collecting the rst close-up photos of another planet. As it passed the planet it revealed lunar-type impact craters, some of them touched with frost in the chill of the Martian evening. Many JPLers know that Mariner 4 was the mission that dispelled myths of an advanced civilization on Mars—but to those who lived it, Mariner 4 accomplished even more. Find out why Mariner 4 was JPL’s watershed, possibly our most important mission ever.

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