View source for Jet Propulsion Laboratory

{{short description|Research and development center and NASA field center in California, United States}}
{{Redirect|JPL}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2023}}
{{Use American English|date=November 2023}}
{{Infobox laboratory
| logo             = NASA JPL Meatball Logo.webp
| logo_size = 297px
| image            = {{multiple image
| border = infobox
| total_width = 310
| image_style = border:1;
| perrow = 1/2/2
| image1 = Site du JPL en Californie.jpg
| image2 = NASA Perseverance Rover Lands on Mars (NHQ202102180003).jpg
| image3 = NISAR's flight antenna system undergoes thermal vacuum testing at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (D2020 0826 G2231).jpg
| image4 = PIA23499-Mars2020Rover-FirstTestDrive-20191217a.jpg
| image5 = Sojourner at JPL Mars Yard 01.jpg
}}
| alt              = An image featuring a birds-eye, aerial view of the laboratory campus buildings and surrounding landscape. The site is nestled in a valley between green, rolling mountains.
| caption          = Clockwise from the top: aerial view of JPL, [[NISAR (satellite)|NISAR]] testing in the [[Twenty-Five-Foot Space Simulator|Space Simulator]], [[Sojourner (rover)|Sojourner]] at JPL's Mars Yard, [[Mars 2020|Mars 2020 rover]], and JPL Mission Control
| established      = {{Start date and age|1936|10|31}}
| type             = Applied
| director         = Dave Gallagher
| staff            = ~5500
| address          = 4800 Oak Grove Drive
| city             = [[Pasadena, California|Pasadena]]
| state            = [[California]]
| country          = United States
| coordinates      = {{Coord|34|12|00|N|118|10|18|W|type:landmark_region:US-CA|display=inline,title}}
| location_map     = California#USA
| free_label       = Subdivision
| free             = [[JPL Science Division]]
| operating_agency = Managed for [[NASA]] by [[California Institute of Technology|Caltech]]
| website          = {{URL|https://www.jpl.nasa.gov|jpl.nasa.gov}}
}}

The '''Jet Propulsion Laboratory''' ('''JPL''') is a [[Federally funded research and development centers|federally funded research and development center]] in [[La Cañada Flintridge, California]], Crescenta Valley, United States.<ref name="Henry">{{cite news |first=Jason |last=Henry |title=Why does everyone say NASA's JPL is in Pasadena when this other city is its real home? |url=https://www.pasadenastarnews.com/2016/07/14/why-does-everyone-say-nasas-jpl-is-in-pasadena-when-this-other-city-is-its-real-home/ |newspaper=[[Pasadena Star-News]] |date=2016-07-14 |access-date=2023-02-25 |archive-date=2017-08-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170802044813/http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/science/20160713/why-does-everyone-say-nasas-jpl-is-in-pasadena-when-this-other-city-is-its-real-home |url-status=live }}</ref> Founded in 1936 by [[California Institute of Technology]] (Caltech) researchers, the laboratory is now owned and sponsored by [[NASA]] and administered and managed by Caltech.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Master Government List of Federally Funded R&D Centers {{!}} NCSES {{!}} NSF |url=https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/ffrdclist/ |access-date=2023-03-08 |website=nsf.gov |archive-date=2022-10-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221007025535/https://nsf.gov/statistics/ffrdclist/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=History |url=https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/about/history.php |access-date=2023-02-25 |publisher=Jet Propulsion Laboratory |archive-date=2020-12-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201212121341/https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/about/history.php |url-status=live }}</ref>

The primary function of the laboratory is the construction and operation of planetary [[robotic spacecraft]], though it also conducts Earth-orbit and astronomy missions. It is also responsible for operating the [[NASA Deep Space Network]] (DSN).

Among the major active projects at the laboratory, some are the [[Mars 2020]] mission, which includes the ''[[Perseverance (rover)|Perseverance]]'' rover; the [[Mars Science Laboratory]] mission, including the ''[[Curiosity (rover)|Curiosity]]'' rover; the ''[[Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter]]''; the ''[[Juno (spacecraft)|Juno]]'' spacecraft orbiting [[Jupiter]]; the ''[[Soil Moisture Active Passive|SMAP]]'' satellite for Earth surface soil moisture monitoring; the [[NuSTAR]] [[X-ray telescope]]; and the ''[[Psyche (spacecraft)|Psyche]]'' asteroid orbiter. It is also responsible for managing the [[JPL Small-Body Database]], and provides physical data and lists of publications for all known [[small Solar System body|small Solar System bodies]].

JPL's [[Space Flight Operations Facility]] and [[Twenty-Five-Foot Space Simulator]] are designated [[National Historic Landmark]]s.<ref>{{Cite news |date=July 26, 1994 |title=PASADENA : JPL Structures Dedicated as Historic Landmarks |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-07-26-me-19944-story.html#:~:text=%E2%80%9COur%20efforts%20to%20land%20a,Deep%20Space%20Network%20for%20NASA.&text=Although%20the%20accepted%20threshold%20for,landmark%20status%2C%E2%80%9D%20Gackenbach%20said.&text=The%20most%20important%20California%20stories%20and%20recommendations%20in%20your%20inbox%20every%20morning. |access-date=June 23, 2025 |newspaper=LA Times}}</ref>

==History==
[[File:P1-RocketBoys (cropped).jpg|left|thumb|240x240px|The "Suicide Squad" of (left to right) Rudolph Schott, [[Apollo M. O. Smith|Apollo Milton Olin Smith]], [[Frank Malina]], Ed Forman and [[Jack Parsons]] testing their first liquid-fueled rocket engine.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |title=The Spark of a New Era |url=https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/the-spark-of-a-new-era |access-date=2023-08-05 |website=NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) |language=en-US |archive-date=August 5, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230805082742/https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/the-spark-of-a-new-era |url-status=live }}</ref>]]
JPL traces its beginnings to 1936 in GALCIT (the [[Guggenheim Aeronautical Laboratory]] at the [[California Institute of Technology]]) when the first set of [[United States]] rocket experiments were carried out in the [[Arroyo Seco (Los Angeles County)|Arroyo Seco]].<ref>{{Cite thesis |title=The Guggenheim Aeronautics Laboratory at Caltech and the creation of the modern rocket motor (1936–1946): How the dynamics of rocket theory became reality |url=http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1999PhDT........48Z |date=1999 |first=Benjamin Seth |last=Zibit |bibcode=1999PhDT........48Z |access-date=2021-02-19 |archive-date=2017-07-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170710182842/http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1999PhDT........48Z |url-status=live }}</ref> This initial venture involved Caltech graduate students [[Frank Malina]], [[Qian Xuesen]],<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.latimes.com/nation/la-me-qian-xuesen1-2009nov01-story.html | title=Qian Xuesen dies at 98; rocket scientist helped establish Jet Propulsion Laboratory | website=[[Los Angeles Times]] | date=September 17, 2014 | access-date=March 12, 2024 | archive-date=January 15, 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200115040111/https://www.latimes.com/nation/la-me-qian-xuesen1-2009nov01-story.html | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://ahf.nuclearmuseum.org/ahf/profile/qian-xuesen/ | title=Qian Xuesen - Nuclear Museum | access-date=March 12, 2024 | archive-date=January 28, 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230128025801/https://ahf.nuclearmuseum.org/ahf/profile/qian-xuesen/ | url-status=live }}</ref> Weld Arnold<ref>{{cite web |title=Science: Quiet Space Lab |date=October 5, 1959 |url=https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,894281-1,00.html |publisher=Time Magazine |access-date=April 28, 2023 |archive-date=April 29, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230429022034/https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,894281-1,00.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and [[Apollo M. O. Smith]], along with [[Jack Parsons (rocket engineer)|Jack Parsons]] and [[Edward S. Forman]], often referred to as the "Suicide Squad" due to the dangerous nature of their experiments.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Landis |first=Geoffrey A. |date=2005 |editor-last=Pendle |editor-first=Geirge |editor2-last=Lord |editor2-first=M. G. |title=The Three Rocketeers |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/27858614 |journal=American Scientist |volume=93 |issue=4 |pages=361–363 |jstor=27858614 |issn=0003-0996 |access-date=August 5, 2023 |archive-date=August 5, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230805082735/https://www.jstor.org/stable/27858614 |url-status=live }}</ref> Together, they tested a small, alcohol-fueled motor to gather data for Malina's graduate thesis.<ref>{{Cite thesis |title=Characteristics of the rocket motor and flight analyses of the sounding rocket |url=https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechTHESIS:08202010-143142441 |publisher=California Institute of Technology |date=1940 |degree=phd |language=en |first=Frank Joseph |last=Malina |access-date=August 5, 2023 |archive-date=May 23, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240523064729/https://thesis.library.caltech.edu/6003/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Malina's thesis advisor was engineer/aerodynamicist [[Theodore von Kármán]], who eventually secured U.S. Army financial support for this "GALCIT Rocket Project" in 1939.

=== Rocketry beginnings ===
In the early years of the project, work was primarily focused on the development of rocket technology. In 1941, Malina, Parsons, Forman, [[Martin Summerfield]], and pilot Homer Bushey demonstrated the first jet-assisted takeoff ([[JATO]]) rockets to the Army. In 1943, von Kármán, Malina, Parsons, and Forman established the [[Aerojet]] Corporation to manufacture JATO rockets. The project took on the name Jet Propulsion Laboratory in November 1943, formally becoming an Army facility operated under contract by the university.<ref>{{cite web |title=Early Years |url=http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/jplhistory/early/settingstakes.php |publisher=JPL |access-date=2010-08-18 |archive-date=2015-06-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150607172134/http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/jplhistory/early/settingstakes.php |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Koppes">{{cite journal |first=Clayton |last=Koppes |title=JPL and the American Space Program |location=New Haven |publisher=Yale University Press |journal=The American Historical Review |volume=89 |issue=2 |date=1 April 1982}}</ref><ref name="Conway">{{cite web |first=Erik M. |last=Conway |title=From Rockets to Spacecraft: Making JPL a Place for Planetary Science |website=Engineering and Science |volume=30 |issue=4 |pages=2–10 |url=http://pr.caltech.edu/periodicals/EandS/ESarchive-frame.html |access-date=2009-01-12 |archive-date=2011-01-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110107010604/http://pr.caltech.edu/periodicals/EandS/ESarchive-frame.html |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="High Frontier">{{cite book |last=Launius |first=Roger |title=To Reach High Frontier, A History of U.S. Launch Vehicles |date=2002 |publisher=University of Kentucky |isbn=978-0-813-12245-8 |pages=39–42}}</ref> In the same year, Qian and two of his colleagues drafted the first document to use the name Jet Propulsion Laboratory.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/universe/archive/un0911.pdf |title=JPL Universe Nov 2009 |website=Jet Propulsion Laboratory |access-date=February 25, 2024 |archive-date=April 6, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240406064002/https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/universe/archive/un0911.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:Von Karman and JATO Team - GPN-2000-001652 (cropped).jpg|left|thumb|250x250px|[[Theodore von Kármán]] sketching out a plan on the wing of an airplane. From left to right: [[Clark Blanchard Millikan|Clark B. Millikan]], [[Martin Summerfield]], von Kármán, Frank J. Malina and pilot, Capt. Homer Boushey.]]
In a NASA conference on the history of early rocketry, Malina wrote that the work of the JPL was "considered to include" the research carried out by the GALCIT Rocket Research Group from 1936 on.<ref name="Malina-1969">{{cite conference |last=Malina |first=F. J. |date=1969 <!--typewritten manuscript, 32 pages; series=JPL History collection; oclc=733101419 --> |publication-date=September 1977 |authorlink=Frank Malina |title=The U.S. Army Air Corps Jet Propulsion Research Project, GALCIT Project No. 1, 1939–1946: A Memoir. |conference=Essays on the History of rocketry and astronautics: proceedings of the third through the sixth Symposia of the International Academy of Astronautics |editor1-last=Hall |editor1-first=R. Cargill |volume=2 Part III The Development of Liquid- and Solid-propellant Rockets, 1880–1945 |publisher=NASA Scientific and Technical Information Office |location=Washington, D.C. |series=NASA conference publication, 2014 |id=CP 2014 |oclc=5354560 |page=153 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PSSwnl3_OA8C&pg=PA153 |access-date=July 27, 2023 |archive-date=July 27, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230727190601/https://books.google.com/books?id=PSSwnl3_OA8C&pg=PA153 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1944, Parsons was expelled due to his "unorthodox and unsafe working methods" following one of several FBI investigations into his involvement with the occult, drugs and sexual promiscuity.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.wired.co.uk/article/jpl-jack-parsons |title=Occultist father of rocketry 'written out' of Nasa's history |last=Solon |first=Olivia |date=April 23, 2014 |magazine=Wired UK |publisher=Condé Nast |access-date=6 October 2019 |archive-date=October 7, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191007022927/https://www.wired.co.uk/article/jpl-jack-parsons |url-status=live }}</ref>

During JPL's Army years, the laboratory developed two significant deployed weapon systems, the [[MGM-5 Corporal]] and [[MGM-29 Sergeant]] tactical ballistic missiles, marking the first US ballistic missiles developed at JPL.<ref>{{cite conference |author=Keymeulen, Didier |display-authors=4 |author2=Myers, John |author3=Newton, Jason |author4=Csaszar, Ambrus |author5=Gan, Quan |author6=Hidalgo, Tim |author7=Moore, Jeff |author8=Sandoval, Steven |author9=Xu, Jiajing | author10=Schon, Aaron |author11=Assad, Chris |author12=Stoica, Adrian |title=Humanoids for Lunar and Planetary Surface Operations |hdl=2014/39699 |location=Pasadena, CA |work=Jet Propulsion Laboratory, National Aeronautics and Space Administration |date=2006 |publisher=JPL TRS 1992+}}</ref> It also developed several other weapons system prototypes, such as the Loki anti-aircraft missile system, and the forerunner of the [[Aerobee]] sounding rocket. At various times, it carried out rocket testing at the [[White Sands Missile Range|White Sands Proving Ground]], [[Edwards Air Force Base]], and [[Goldstone, California]].<ref name="High Frontier" />

=== Transition to NASA ===
In 1954, JPL teamed up with [[Wernher von Braun]]'s engineers at the [[Army Ballistic Missile Agency]]'s [[Redstone Arsenal]] in [[Huntsville, Alabama]], to propose orbiting a satellite during the [[International Geophysical Year]]. The team lost that proposal to [[Project Vanguard]], and instead embarked on a classified project to demonstrate ablative re-entry technology using a [[Jupiter-C]] rocket. They carried out three successful sub-orbital flights in 1956 and 1957. Using a spare [[Juno I]] (a modified Jupiter-C with a fourth stage), the two organizations then launched the United States' first satellite, [[Explorer 1]], on January 31, 1958.<ref name="Koppes" /><ref name="Conway" /> This significant achievement marked a new era for JPL and the US in the space race.

Less than a year later in December 1958, JPL was transferred to the newly formed [[NASA|National Aeronautics and Space Administration]] (NASA).<ref name="bello1959">{{cite news |url=http://features.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2012/06/03/the-early-space-age-fortune-1959/?section=magazines_fortune |title=The Early Space Age |work=Fortune |date=1959 |access-date=June 5, 2012 |author=Bello, Francis |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131103053024/http://features.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2012/06/03/the-early-space-age-fortune-1959/?section=magazines_fortune |archive-date=November 3, 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref> As a result of this transition, JPL became the agency's primary planetary spacecraft center, leading the design and operation of various lunar and interplanetary missions. The transfer to NASA marked the beginning of a "Golden Age" of planetary exploration for JPL in the 1960s and 1970s.<ref>{{Citation |last=Shipman |first=Harry L. |title=The Golden Age of Planetary Exploration |date=1987 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-6054-2_8 |work=Space 2000 |pages=163–193 |access-date=2023-08-05 |place=Boston, MA |publisher=Springer US |doi=10.1007/978-1-4899-6054-2_8 |isbn=978-0-306-42534-9 |archive-date=May 23, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240523064732/https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-4899-6054-2_8 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref> JPL engineers designed and operated [[Ranger program|Ranger]] and [[Surveyor program|Surveyor]] missions to the [[Moon]] that paved the way for the [[Apollo program]]. JPL proved itself a leader in [[interplanetary travel|interplanetary exploration]] with the [[Mariner program|Mariner]] missions to [[Venus]], [[Mars]], and [[Mercury (planet)|Mercury]], returning valuable data about our neighboring planets.<ref name="Koppes" />

Notably, JPL was early to employ female mathematicians. In the 1940s and 1950s, using mechanical calculators, women in an all-female computations group performed trajectory calculations.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20200525094753/https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=1327 Women Made Early Inroads at JPL – NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory]. Jpl.nasa.gov. Retrieved on 2013-07-21.</ref><ref>[http://www.redstone.army.mil/history/women_chron/1.html] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101107193900/http://www.redstone.army.mil/history/women_chron/1.html|date=November 7, 2010}}</ref> In 1961, JPL hired [[Dana Ulery]] as the first female engineer to work alongside male engineers as part of the [[Ranger program|Ranger]] and [[Mariner program|Mariner]] mission tracking teams.<ref>{{cite web |title=Bibliography |url=http://pub-lib.jpl.nasa.gov/docushare/dsweb/Get/Document-697/Bibliography39-03_1961-1962.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170131012405/https://pub-lib.jpl.nasa.gov/docushare/dsweb/Get/Document-697/Bibliography39-03_1961-1962.pdf |archive-date=2017-01-31 |access-date=2011-01-10 |website=pub-lib.jpl.nasa.gov}}</ref>

=== Deep space exploration ===
Building on the momentum from the successes of the 1960s and early 1970s, JPL initiated an era of deep space exploration in the late 1970s and 1980s. The highlight of this period was the launch of the twin [[Voyager program|Voyager spacecraft]] in 1977.<ref>{{Citation |title=Medieval Hebrew Manuscript Fragments in Switzerland: Some Highlights of the Discoveries |date=2013-01-01 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/9789004258501_012 |work=Books within Books |pages=255–269 |access-date=2023-08-05 |publisher=BRILL |doi=10.1163/9789004258501_012 |isbn=9789004258501 |last1=Isserles |first1=Justine |archive-date=May 23, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240523064746/https://brill.com/display/book/edcoll/9789004258501/B9789004258501_012.xml |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref> 
[[File:JPL Mission Control.jpg|left|thumb|250x250px|JPL Mission Control]]
Initially set on a trajectory to explore Jupiter and its moon Io, ''[[Voyager 1]]''{{'}}s mission parameters were adjusted to also provide a close flyby of [[Saturn]]'s moon [[Titan (moon)|Titan]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Witze |first=Alexandra |date=2017 |title=Space science: Voyager at 40 |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/548392a |journal=Nature |language=en |volume=548 |issue=7668 |pages=392 |doi=10.1038/548392a |bibcode=2017Natur.548..392W |s2cid=4407597 |issn=1476-4687 |access-date=August 5, 2023 |archive-date=August 5, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230805082743/https://www.nature.com/articles/548392a |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref> The spacecraft sent back detailed images and data from both gas giants, revolutionizing the understanding of these distant worlds.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Miner |first=Ellis D. |date=1990-07-01 |title=Voyager 2's Encounter with the Gas Giants |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.881251 |journal=Physics Today |volume=43 |issue=7 |pages=40–47 |doi=10.1063/1.881251 |bibcode=1990PhT....43g..40M |issn=0031-9228 |access-date=August 5, 2023 |archive-date=May 23, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240523064734/https://pubs.aip.org/physicstoday/article-abstract/43/7/40/406170/Voyager-2-s-Encounter-with-the-Gas-GiantsWhen?redirectedFrom=fulltext |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref> The ''[[Voyager 2]]'' spacecraft followed a more extensive trajectory, conducting flybys of not just Jupiter and Saturn, but also Uranus and Neptune.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Smith |first1=B. A. |last2=Soderblom |first2=L. A. |last3=Banfield |first3=D. |last4=Barnet |first4=c. |last5=Basilevsky |first5=A. T. |last6=Beebe |first6=R. F. |last7=Bollinger |first7=K. |last8=Boyce |first8=J. M. |last9=Brahic |first9=A. |last10=Briggs |first10=G. A. |last11=Brown |first11=R. H. |last12=Chyba |first12=c. |last13=Collins |first13=s. A. |last14=Colvin |first14=T. |last15=Cook |first15=A. F. |date=1989-12-15 |title=Voyager 2 at Neptune: Imaging Science Results |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.246.4936.1422 |journal=Science |volume=246 |issue=4936 |pages=1422–1449 |doi=10.1126/science.246.4936.1422 |pmid=17755997 |bibcode=1989Sci...246.1422S |s2cid=45403579 |issn=0036-8075 |access-date=August 5, 2023 |archive-date=May 23, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240523064818/https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.246.4936.1422 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref> These encounters provided firsthand data from all four gas giants, offering insights into the nature and dynamics of the outer planets. Both Voyager spacecraft, after fulfilling their primary mission objectives, were directed towards [[Outer space|interstellar space]], carrying with them the [[Voyager Golden Record|Golden Records]] – phonograph discs containing sounds and images selected to portray the diversity of life on Earth.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Meehan |first=Pascale |date=2018-11-14 |title=Rural responses following collapse: insights from Monte El Santo, Oaxaca, Mexico |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00438243.2018.1537858 |journal=World Archaeology |volume=51 |issue=2 |pages=328–345 |doi=10.1080/00438243.2018.1537858 |s2cid=158306370 |issn=0043-8243|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

The 1980s also saw the inception of the [[Galileo project|''Galileo'' mission]] which launched in the late 1980s.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Kivelson |first1=M. G. |last2=Khurana |first2=K. K. |last3=Russell |first3=C. T. |last4=Walker |first4=R. J. |last5=Warnecke |first5=J. |last6=Coroniti |first6=F. V. |last7=Polanskey |first7=C. |last8=Southwood |first8=D. J. |last9=Schubert |first9=G. |date=1996 |title=Discovery of Ganymede's magnetic field by the Galileo spacecraft |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/384537a0 |journal=Nature |volume=384 |issue=6609 |pages=537–541 |doi=10.1038/384537a0 |bibcode=1996Natur.384..537K |s2cid=4246607 |issn=0028-0836 |access-date=August 5, 2023 |archive-date=May 23, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240523064740/https://www.nature.com/articles/384537a0 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref> The [[Galileo (spacecraft)|''Galileo'' spacecraft]] was designed to study [[Jupiter]] and its major moons in detail.<ref>{{Citation |last=Hricko |first=Jonathon |title=What Can the Discovery of Boron Tell Us About the Scientific Realism Debate? |date=2021-06-10 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780190946814.003.0003 |work=Contemporary Scientific Realism |pages=33–55 |access-date=2023-08-05 |publisher=Oxford University Press |doi=10.1093/oso/9780190946814.003.0003 |isbn=978-0-19-094681-4 |archive-date=May 23, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240523065238/https://academic.oup.com/book/39259/chapter-abstract/338811308?redirectedFrom=fulltext |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref> Although the probe only entered the gas giant's orbit in the 1990s, its inception and planning during the 1980s signified JPL's continued commitment to deep space exploration.


[[File:Native sulfur on Mars!.jpg|thumb|upright|Native sulfur on Mars! Discovered May 30, 2024, when the ''[[Curiosity (rover)|Curiosity]]'' rover drove over this outcrop and cracked it open.]]
=== Mars exploration ===
The 1990s and 2000s saw a resurgence in [[Mars]] exploration, driven by JPL's [[Mars Pathfinder]] and [[Mars Exploration Rover]] missions.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Wright |first1=J. |last2=Trebi-Ollennu |first2=A. |last3=Hartman |first3=F. |last4=Cooper |first4=B. |last5=Maxwell |first5=S. |last6=Jeng Yen |last7=Morrison |first7=J. |title=2005 IEEE International Conference on Systems, Man and Cybernetics |chapter=Terrain Modelling for In-situ Activity Planning and Rehearsal for the Mars Exploration Rovers |date=2005 |volume=2 |pages=1372–1377 |chapter-url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/icsmc.2005.1571338 |publisher=IEEE |doi=10.1109/icsmc.2005.1571338 |isbn=0-7803-9298-1 |s2cid=11275990 |access-date=August 5, 2023 |archive-date=May 23, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240523065252/https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/1571338/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1997, the Mars Pathfinder mission deployed the first successful Mars rover, ''[[Sojourner (rover)|Sojourner]]'', demonstrating the feasibility of mobile exploration on the Martian surface. In 2004, the Mars Exploration Rovers, ''[[Spirit (rover)|Spirit]]'' and ''[[Opportunity rover|Opportunity]]'', landed on Mars. ''Opportunity'' outlived its expected lifespan by 14 years, providing a wealth of scientific data and setting the stage for future Mars missions.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Konopliv |first1=Alex S. |last2=Park |first2=Ryan S. |last3=Folkner |first3=William M. |date=2016 |title=An improved JPL Mars gravity field and orientation from Mars orbiter and lander tracking data |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2016.02.052 |journal=Icarus |volume=274 |pages=253–260 |doi=10.1016/j.icarus.2016.02.052 |bibcode=2016Icar..274..253K |issn=0019-1035 |access-date=August 5, 2023 |archive-date=May 23, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240523065311/https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0019103516001305?via%3Dihub |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref>

=== Earth science and robotic exploration ===
[[File:Mars Science Laboratory mockup comparison.jpg|thumb|MSL mockup compared with the [[Mars Exploration Rover]] and [[Sojourner (rover)|''Sojourner'' rover]] by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory on May 12, 2008|250x250px]]In the 2000s and 2010s, JPL broadened its exploration scope, including the launch of missions to study the outer planets, like the [[Juno (spacecraft)|''Juno'' mission]] to Jupiter and the [[Cassini–Huygens|''Cassini-Huygens'' mission]] to Saturn.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Grammier |first=Richard S. |title=2009 IEEE Aerospace conference |chapter=A look inside the Juno Mission to Jupiter |date=2009 |chapter-url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/aero.2009.4839326 |pages=1–10 |publisher=IEEE |doi=10.1109/aero.2009.4839326 |isbn=978-1-4244-2621-8 |s2cid=9029002 |access-date=August 5, 2023 |archive-date=May 23, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240523065236/https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/4839326/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Sollazzo |first1=C. |last2=Rakiewicz |first2=J. |last3=Wills |first3=R.D. |date=1995 |title=Cassini-Huygens: Mission operations |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0967-0661(95)00174-s |journal=Control Engineering Practice |volume=3 |issue=11 |pages=1631–1640 |doi=10.1016/0967-0661(95)00174-s |issn=0967-0661 |access-date=August 5, 2023 |archive-date=May 23, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240523065239/https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/096706619500174S?via%3Dihub |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref> Concurrently, JPL also began to focus on Earth science missions, developing satellite technology to study climate change, weather patterns, and natural phenomena on Earth. JPL also opened the Near-Earth Object Program Office for NASA in 1998, which had found 95% of asteroids a kilometer or more in diameter that cross Earth's orbit by 2013.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Whalen |first1=Mark |last2=Murrill |first2=Mary Beth |date=24 July 1998 |title=JPL will establish Near-Earth Object Program Office for NASA |url=http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/program/neo.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130313011043/http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/program/neo.html |archive-date=13 March 2013 |access-date=19 February 2013 |website=Jet Propulsion Laboratory |publisher=NASA}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=18 February 2013 |title=NASA scrambles for better asteroid detection |newspaper=[[France 24]] |url=http://mobile.france24.com/en/20130218-nasa-scrambles-better-asteroid-detection |url-status=dead |access-date=19 February 2013 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130410235718/http://mobile.france24.com/en/20130218-nasa-scrambles-better-asteroid-detection |archive-date=10 April 2013}}</ref>

Entering the 2010s and 2020s, JPL continued its Mars exploration with the ''[[Curiosity (rover)|Curiosity]]'' rover and the Mars 2020 mission, which included the [[Perseverance (rover)|''Perseverance'' rover]] and the [[Ingenuity (helicopter)|''Ingenuity'' helicopter]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Tzanetos |first1=Theodore |last2=Aung |first2=MiMi |last3=Balaram |first3=J. |last4=Grip |first4=Havard Fjrer |last5=Karras |first5=Jaakko T. |last6=Canham |first6=Timothy K. |last7=Kubiak |first7=Gerik |last8=Anderson |first8=Joshua |last9=Merewether |first9=Gene |last10=Starch |first10=Michael |last11=Pauken |first11=Mike |last12=Cappucci |first12=Stefano |last13=Chase |first13=Matthew |last14=Golombek |first14=Matthew |last15=Toupet |first15=Olivier |title=2022 IEEE Aerospace Conference (AERO) |chapter=Ingenuity Mars Helicopter: From Technology Demonstration to Extraterrestrial Scout |date=2022-03-05 |chapter-url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/aero53065.2022.9843428 |pages=01–19 |publisher=IEEE |doi=10.1109/aero53065.2022.9843428 |isbn=978-1-6654-3760-8 |s2cid=251473148 |access-date=August 5, 2023 |archive-date=May 23, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240523065238/https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9843428/ |url-status=live }}</ref> ''Perseverance''{{'}}s core objective is to collect samples for a future Mars Sample Return (MSR) mission. In addition, JPL ventured into asteroid exploration with the [[OSIRIS-REx]] mission which returned a sample from asteroid [[101955 Bennu|Bennu]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=JPL Science: OSIRIS |url=https://science.jpl.nasa.gov/projects/osiris/ |access-date=2023-08-05 |website=science.jpl.nasa.gov |archive-date=August 5, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230805082742/https://science.jpl.nasa.gov/projects/osiris/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== 2020s and beyond ===
As JPL moves forward, its focus remains on diverse interplanetary and even interstellar missions. Future Mars missions will aim to return the samples collected by the Perseverance rover back to Earth.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Czaja |first1=Andrew |last2=Benison |first2=Kathleen |last3=Bosak |first3=Tanja |last4=Cohen |first4=Barbara A. |last5=Hausrath |first5=Elisabeth M. |last6=Hickman-Lewis |first6=Keyron |last7=Mayhew |first7=Lisa E. |last8=Shuster |first8=David L. |last9=Siljeström |first9=Sandra |last10=Simon |first10=Justin I. |last11=Weiss |first11=Benjamin P. |title=Samples and Notional Caches from Jezero Crater and Beyond for Mars Sample Return |date=2021 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1130/abs/2021am-367976 |journal=Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs |volume=53 |article-number=367976 |publisher=Geological Society of America |doi=10.1130/abs/2021am-367976 |bibcode=2021GSAA...5367976C |s2cid=240134541 |access-date=August 5, 2023 |archive-date=May 23, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240523065238/https://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2021AM/webprogram/Paper367976.html |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref> Additionally, JPL's ''[[Europa Clipper]]'' mission launched in 2024 to study Jupiter's moon [[Europa (moon)|Europa]], believed to harbor a subsurface ocean.<ref>{{Cite web |title=NASA's Europa Clipper |url=https://europa.nasa.gov/ |access-date=2023-08-05 |website=NASA's Europa Clipper |archive-date=April 4, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404000842/https://europa.nasa.gov/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Building on the Voyager program's success, JPL continues to push the boundaries of deep-space exploration. The [[Interstellar probe|Interstellar Probe]] concept, though not yet formalized, proposes to send a spacecraft ten times the distance from the Sun as Pluto, to explore the interstellar medium and the outermost reaches of the [[Solar System]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Mewaldt |first1=R. |last2=Liewer |first2=P. |date=2000-08-22 |title=An interstellar probe mission to the boundaries of the heliosphere and nearby interstellar space |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.2514/6.2000-5173 |journal=Space 2000 Conference and Exposition |location=Reston, Virginia |publisher=American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics |doi=10.2514/6.2000-5173 |access-date=August 5, 2023 |archive-date=May 23, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240523065742/https://arc.aiaa.org/doi/10.2514/6.2000-5173 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref>

JPL has been recognized four times by the [[Space Foundation]]: with the Douglas S. Morrow Public Outreach Award, which is given annually to an individual or organization that has made significant contributions to public awareness of space programs, in 1998; and with the John L. "Jack" Swigert, Jr., Award for Space Exploration on three occasions – in 2009 (as part of NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander Team<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.spacefoundation.org/2009/02/19/the-phoenix-mars-lander-team-wins-2009-jack-swigert-award-for-space-exploration/ |title=The Phoenix Mars Lander Team Wins 2009 Jack Swigert Award for Space Exploration |date=February 19, 2009 |access-date=December 5, 2022 |publisher=The Space Foundation |archive-date=December 5, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221205194102/https://www.spacefoundation.org/2009/02/19/the-phoenix-mars-lander-team-wins-2009-jack-swigert-award-for-space-exploration/ |url-status=live }}</ref>), 2006 and 2005.

In January 2025, JPL was closed and evacuated due to the [[Eaton Fire]] raging in the nearby towns of [[Pasadena, California|Pasadena]] and [[Altadena, California|Altadena]], with operations like the DSN getting relocated offsite.<ref>{{Cite web |author1=Mike Wall |date=January 8, 2025 |title=NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab closed due to raging LA fires |url=https://www.space.com/space-exploration/nasas-jet-propulsion-lab-closed-due-to-raging-la-fires |access-date=January 10, 2025 |website=Space.com |language=en-US |archive-date=January 9, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250109172828/https://www.space.com/space-exploration/nasas-jet-propulsion-lab-closed-due-to-raging-la-fires |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=January 9, 2025 |title=NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory evacuated due to LA wildfire |url=https://spacenews.com/nasa-jet-propulsion-laboratory-evacuated-due-to-la-wildfire/ |access-date=January 10, 2025 |website=SpaceNews |language=en-US}}</ref> Although the facility has not sustained damage from the wildfires, it has experienced minor wind damage and as well as numerous employees losing their homes.<ref>{{Cite tweet |number=1877033688539468061 |user=LaurieofMars |title=JPL is closed except for emergency personnel. No fire damage so far (some wind damage) but it is very close to the lab. Hundreds of JPLers have been evacuated from their homes & many have lost homes. Special thx to our emergency crews. Pls keep us in your thoughts & stay safe. |first=Laurie |last=Leshin |date=January 8, 2025 |access-date=January 10, 2025}}</ref>

==Location==
[[File:JPL1.jpg|thumb|upright|JPL-developed Sergeant (left) and Corporal (right) missiles on display at JPL in April 2006]]
When it was founded, JPL's site was immediately west of a rocky flood-plain – the [[Arroyo Seco (Los Angeles County)|Arroyo Seco]] riverbed – above the Devil's Gate dam in the northwestern [[Salient (geography)|panhandle]] of the city of Pasadena in [[Southern California]], near [[Los Angeles]]. While the first few buildings were constructed in land bought from the city of Pasadena,<ref name="Henry"/> subsequent buildings were constructed in neighboring unincorporated land that later became part of [[La Cañada Flintridge]]. Nowadays, most of the {{convert|168|acre|ha|0}} of the [[Federal government of the United States|U.S. federal government]]-owned NASA property that makes up the JPL campus is located in La Cañada Flintridge.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://unitelcf.files.wordpress.com/2014/09/la-canada-flintridge_lafco-map-spere-of-influence.pdf |title=Local Agency Formation Commission for the County of Los Angeles |access-date=2016-02-17 |archive-date=2017-03-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170305012949/https://unitelcf.files.wordpress.com/2014/09/la-canada-flintridge_lafco-map-spere-of-influence.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=latimes>{{cite web |url=http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/readers/2012/08/jpl-mars-curiosity-la-canada-flintridge.html |title=Location of NASA's JPL is a bit of a curiosity |date=9 August 2012 |access-date=28 April 2017 |archive-date=2 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170802044249/http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/readers/2012/08/jpl-mars-curiosity-la-canada-flintridge.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Despite this, JPL still uses a Pasadena address (4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109) as its official mailing address.<ref>{{cite web |title=Directions and Maps |publisher=Jet Propulsion Laboratory |access-date=29 April 2017 |url=https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/about_JPL/maps.php |archive-date=17 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200317234905/https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/about_JPL/maps.php |url-status=live }}</ref> There has been occasional rivalry between the two cities over the issue of which one should be mentioned in the media as the home of the laboratory.<ref name=latimes/><ref>"Pasadena to ask JPL land annexation", Pasadena Star News 11, March 1976;</ref><ref>"JPL Faces an identity crisis following incorporation vote", Pasadena Star News, 15 Nov 1976</ref><ref>"The great battle for JPL", La Canada Valley Sun 18 Mar. 1976</ref>

==Employees==
{{Unreferenced section |date=April 2025}}
After the 2024 layoffs, there are only approximately 5,500 full-time Caltech employees and contractors working on any given day. NASA also has a resident office at the facility staffed by federal managers who oversee JPL's activities and work for NASA. There are also some Caltech [[Graduate school|graduate students]], college student interns and co-op students.

JPL officially ended [[DEI]] hires and practices stemming from federal pressure in 2025 by removing its Chief Diversity Leader.

==Education==
[[File:A 1960s advert for working at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratories (JPL).jpeg|thumb|right|A 1960s advert reads: "When you were a kid, science fiction gave you a sense of wonder. Now you feel the same just by going to work."]]
The JPL Education Office serves educators and students by providing them with activities, resources, materials and opportunities tied to NASA missions and science. The mission of its programs is to introduce and further students' interest in pursuing [[STEM]] (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) careers.<ref>{{cite web |author=Jpl.Nasa.Gov |url=http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/education/index.cfm?page=93 |title=About Us – JPL Education – NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory |publisher=Jpl.nasa.gov |access-date=2014-04-30 |archive-date=2015-07-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150703124748/http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/education/index.cfm?page=93 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Internships and fellowships===
JPL offers research, internship and fellowship opportunities in the summer and throughout the year to high school through postdoctoral and faculty students. (In most cases, students must be U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents to apply, although foreign nationals studying at U.S. universities are eligible for limited programs.) Interns are sponsored through NASA programs, university partnerships and JPL mentors for research opportunities at the laboratory in areas including technology, robotics, planetary science, aerospace engineering, and astrophysics.<ref>{{cite web |author=Jpl.Nasa.Gov |url=http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/education/internships/ |title=Student Programs, Internships & Fellowships at JPL – JPL Education – NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory |publisher=Jpl.nasa.gov |access-date=2014-04-30 |archive-date=2014-11-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141120195209/http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/education/internships/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In August 2013, JPL was named one of "The 10 Most Awesome College Labs of 2013" by Popular Science, which noted that about 100 students who intern at the laboratory are considered for permanent jobs at JPL after they graduate.<ref>{{cite web |author=<!-- 0 --> |url=http://www.popsci.com/science/gallery/2013-08/awesome-labs/?image=6 |title=The 10 Most Awesome College Labs Of 2013 &#124; Popular Science |publisher=Popsci.com |date=2013-08-20 |access-date=2014-04-30 |archive-date=2014-02-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140223171300/http://www.popsci.com/science/gallery/2013-08/awesome-labs?image=6 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The JPL Education Office also hosts the Planetary Science Summer School (PSSS), an annual week-long workshop for graduate and postdoctoral students. The program involves a one-week team design exercise developing an early mission concept study, working with JPL's Advanced Projects Design Team ("Team X") and other concurrent engineering teams.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://pscischool.jpl.nasa.gov/ |title=Planetary Science Summer School |access-date=May 14, 2008 |archive-date=March 20, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090320184346/https://pscischool.jpl.nasa.gov/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Museum & Informal Education Alliance Alliance===
JPL created the NASA Museum Alliance in 2003 out of a desire to provide museums, planetariums, visitor centers and other kinds of informal educators with exhibit materials, professional development and information related to the then-upcoming landings of the [[Mars rover]]s ''[[Spirit (rover)|Spirit]]'' and ''[[Opportunity (rover)|Opportunity]]''.<ref>{{cite web |author=Jpl.Nasa.Gov |url=http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/education/museum_alliance.cfm |title=JPL Education – NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory |publisher=Jpl.nasa.gov |date=2012-05-23 |access-date=2014-04-30 |archive-date=2015-04-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150401173734/http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/education/museum_alliance.cfm |url-status=dead }}</ref> The Alliance now has more than 500 members, who get access to NASA displays, models, educational workshops and networking opportunities through the program. Staff at educational organizations that meet the Museum Alliance requirements can register to participate online.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://informal.jpl.nasa.gov/museum/Joining/index.cfm |title=About Us &#124; Museum Alliance |publisher=Informal.jpl.nasa.gov |access-date=2014-04-30 |archive-date=2013-02-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130214190815/https://informal.jpl.nasa.gov/museum/Joining/index.cfm |url-status=live }}</ref>

The Museum Alliance is a subset of the JPL Education Office's Informal Education group, which also serves after-school and summer programs, parents and other kinds of informal educators.<ref>{{cite web |author=Jpl.Nasa.Gov |url=http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/education/informal/ |title=Inspire – JPL Education – NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory |publisher=Jpl.nasa.gov |access-date=2014-04-30 |archive-date=2015-07-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150704002026/http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/education/informal/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

On [https://icont.ac/50Ted December 9, 2020], the Museum Alliance officially announced a rebrand to the Museum & Informal Education (MIE) Alliance. In an announcement to members, they said, "Pronounced 'My' Alliance, our new name better reflects the diversity of organizations you represent."

===Educator Resource Center===
The NASA/JPL Educator Resource Center, which is moving from its location at the Indian Hill Mall in Pomona, California, at the end of 2013,<ref>{{cite web |author=Jpl.Nasa.Gov |url=http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/education/index.cfm?page=115 |title=Educator Resource Center - JPL Education - NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory |publisher=Jpl.nasa.gov |access-date=2014-04-30 |archive-date=2014-05-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140509031146/http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/education/index.cfm?page=115 |url-status=dead}}</ref> offers resources, materials and free workshops for formal and informal educators covering science, technology, engineering and science topics related to NASA missions and science.

==Keck Institute for Space Studies==
[[File:Asteroid capture-planB.jpg|thumb|Asteroid capture gripper to grasp and secure a boulder from an asteroid. Conceptual design, 2015]]
In 2008, Caltech and JPL jointly established the [[Keck Institute for Space Studies]] (KISS), an interdisciplinary [[think tank]] designed to foster early-stage innovation in space science and engineering.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Soriano |first=Iryna Chatila and Antonio |title=Keck Institute for Space Studies |url=https://kiss.caltech.edu/ |access-date=2025-06-25 |website=kiss.caltech.edu |language=en |archive-date=June 25, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250625231624/https://kiss.caltech.edu/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Based at Caltech, KISS organizes intensive study programs that bring together researchers from JPL, Caltech, and experts in specialized fields from a range of institutes to explore and implement mission concepts and technologies for space exploration and technology. Centered on the research and instrumentation strengths of Caltech and JPL, KISS convenes experts from academia, government, and industry to develop new mission concepts in planetary science, Earth science, and astrophysics.<ref>{{Cite report |last=McGann |first=James G. |date=2021-01-28 |title=2020 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report |publisher=University of Pennsylvania |url=https://repository.upenn.edu/handle/20.500.14332/48577 |language=en |issue=18 |archive-date=December 20, 2023 |access-date=June 25, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231220014143/https://repository.upenn.edu/handle/20.500.14332/48577 |url-status=live }}</ref> The institute also engages graduate students and postdoctoral researchers in its studies and promotes public outreach through lectures and online dissemination.<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEm-v6yyLEU |title=Keck Institute for Space Studies: Shaping the Future of Space Exploration |date=2025-05-14 |last=caltech |access-date=2025-06-25 |via=YouTube |archive-date=May 15, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250515180917/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEm-v6yyLEU |url-status=live }}</ref> While KISS does not directly manage space missions, several of its studies have seeded proposals that evolved into JPL-led projects for NASA.

Some of the JPL missions influenced by KISS include:<ref>{{Cite web |last=Studies |first=W. M. Keck Institute for Space |title=FINAL REPORTS {{!}} Keck Institute for Space Studies |url=http://kiss.caltech.edu/final_reports.html |access-date=2025-06-25 |website=kiss.caltech.edu |language=en |archive-date=June 25, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250625231625/https://www.kiss.caltech.edu/final_reports.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Studies |first=W. M. Keck Institute for Space |title=Publications & Research Papers {{!}} Keck Institute for Space Studies |url=http://kiss.caltech.edu/publications.html |access-date=2025-06-25 |website=kiss.caltech.edu |language=en |archive-date=August 20, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250820152258/https://www.kiss.caltech.edu/publications.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

* [[Asteroid Redirect Mission]] – Conceptualized in a 2011 KISS-led study on asteroid retrieval, the idea evolved into NASA's Asteroid Redirect Robotic Mission.
* [[InSight]] Mars Lander – A KISS planetary seismology workshop in 2010 directly influenced the mission's payload and design.
* Geochronology on Mars ([[Curiosity (rover)|Curiosity]]) – Techniques for dating Martian rocks, proposed during a 2009 KISS study, were implemented on Curiosity.
* [[SPHEREx]] and [[Lunar Trailblazer]] – Both missions, selected in 2019, feature PIs affiliated with Caltech/KISS ([[Bethany Ehlmann]] and Jamie Bock) and deploy designs rooted in KISS-conceived concepts.

==Open house==
[[File:2007 jpl open house.jpg|left|thumb|upright|A display at the May 19, 2007 Open House]]
The lab had an open house once a year on a Saturday and Sunday in May or June, when the public was invited to tour the facilities and see live demonstrations of JPL science and technology. More limited private tours are also available throughout the year if scheduled well in advance. Thousands of schoolchildren from Southern California and elsewhere visit the lab every year.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/events/open-house.cfm |title=JPL Open House |website=Jet Propulsion Laboratory |access-date=January 2, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090118022750/https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/events/open-house.cfm |archive-date=January 18, 2009}}</ref> Due to federal spending cuts mandated by [[budget sequestration]], the open house has been previously cancelled.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2013/04/22/open-house-at-jpl-closed-to-public-over-sequestration/ |title=Open House At JPL Closed To Public Over Sequestration " CBS Los Angeles |publisher=Losangeles.cbslocal.com |date=2013-04-22 |access-date=2014-04-30 |archive-date=2014-05-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140501103348/http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2013/04/22/open-house-at-jpl-closed-to-public-over-sequestration/ |url-status=live }}</ref> JPL open house for 2014 was October 11 and 12 and 2015 was October 10 and 11. Starting from 2016, JPL replaced the annual Open House with "Ticket to Explore JPL", which features the same exhibits but requires tickets and advance reservation.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/events/2016/4/25/ticket-to-explore-jpl/ |title=Ticket to Explore JPL Public Events |website=Jet Propulsion Laboratory |access-date=2016-06-24 |archive-date=2016-06-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160629174259/http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/events/2016/4/25/ticket-to-explore-jpl |url-status=live }}</ref> Roboticist and Mars rover driver [[Vandi Verma]] frequently acts as [[science communicator]] at open house type events to encourage children (and particularly girls) into [[Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics|STEM]] careers.<ref name="mltv2019">{{cite web |title=Vandi Tompkins talk to the Mars Lab |url=https://youtube.com/watch?v=U5bQNoeITO0 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/U5bQNoeITO0 |archive-date=2021-12-11 |url-status=live |website=Mars Lab TV (on YouTube) | date=August 7, 2014 |time=19'45 |access-date=8 February 2019}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Siders |first1=Jennifer Torres |title=Women from JPL, which is managed for NASA by Caltech, address high school students. Prospective Applicants Explore Opportunities for Women at Caltech |url=http://www.caltech.edu/news/prospective-applicants-explore-opportunities-women-caltech-79367 |website=Caltech |date=15 August 2017 |access-date=8 February 2019 |archive-date=9 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190209180114/http://www.caltech.edu/news/prospective-applicants-explore-opportunities-women-caltech-79367 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="twig2019">{{cite web |title=Life on Mars |url=https://twigeducation.com/blog/life-on-mars/ |website=Twig Education |access-date=8 February 2019 |date=2017-06-06 |archive-date=2018-05-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180519203015/http://www.twigeducation.com/blog/life-on-mars/ |url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Other works==
In addition to its government work, JPL has also assisted the nearby motion picture and television industries, by advising them about scientific accuracy in their productions. Science fiction shows advised by JPL include ''[[Babylon 5]]'' and its sequel series, ''[[Crusade (TV series)|Crusade]]''.

JPL also works with the [[Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate]] (DHS-S&T). JPL and DHS-S&T developed a search and rescue tool for [[first responders]] called FINDER. First responders can use FINDER to locate people still alive who are buried in rubble after a disaster or terrorist attack. FINDER uses [[microwave radar]] to detect breathing and pulses.<ref>Cohen, Bryan. [http://bioprepwatch.com/first-responders/dhs-staff-members-attend-annual-day-on-the-hill/335884/ "DHS staff members attend annual Day on the Hill"] {{webarchive |url=https://archive.today/20140216053911/http://bioprepwatch.com/first-responders/dhs-staff-members-attend-annual-day-on-the-hill/335884 |date=2014-02-16 }}. ''BioPrepWatch''. February 10, 2014 (Retrieved 02-10-2014).</ref>

Additionally, JPL is home to the JPL-RPIF (Jet Propulsion Laboratory – Regional Planetary Image Facility) which is chartered as a repository for all robotic spacecraft hard-copy data and thus provides a valuable resource to NASA funded science investigators, and an important conduit for the distribution of NASA generated materials to local educators in the Los Angeles/southern California area.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2016/pdf/2596.pdf |title=Overview of the Regional Planetary Image Facility (RPIF) at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory |publisher=47th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference |date=2016 |access-date=2019-03-16 |archive-date=2021-03-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308120415/https://www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2016/pdf/2596.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://rpif.jpl.nasa.gov/ |title=RPIF |website=rpif.jpl.nasa.gov |access-date=2019-03-16 |archive-date=2018-11-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181129161447/https://rpif.jpl.nasa.gov/ |url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Funding==
The predominant source of JPL's financial support is NASA.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dunbar |first=Brian |date=2015-01-27 |title=Budget Documents, Strategic Plans and Performance Reports |url=http://www.nasa.gov/news/budget/index.html |access-date=2023-08-22 |website=NASA |archive-date=December 21, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101221004158/http://www.nasa.gov/news/budget/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref> As a field center of NASA, JPL's primary activities and projects are generally aligned with NASA's mission objectives in space exploration, Earth sciences, and astrophysics. The funding allocated to JPL comes as a portion of NASA's annual budget, which is itself part of the United States federal budget approved by Congress.<ref>{{Cite web |title=GovInfo |url=https://www.govinfo.gov/app/collection/budget/2022 |access-date=2023-08-22 |website=www.govinfo.gov |language=en |archive-date=July 24, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230724161423/https://www.govinfo.gov/app/collection/budget/2022 |url-status=live }}</ref> The scale of the budget is contingent on the projects that JPL undertakes as missions can range from flagship interplanetary missions costing billions of U.S. dollars to smaller Earth observation systems with budgets in the hundreds of millions.

Aside from NASA, JPL secures funding for specialized projects from other federal agencies, including but not limited to the [[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]] (NOAA) the [[United States Geological Survey]] (USGS), and the U.S. [[United States Department of Defense|Department of Defense]] (DoD).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Funding Opportunities & Funded Projects |url=https://cpo.noaa.gov/Divisions-Programs/Earth-System-Science-and-Modeling/Modeling-Analysis-Predictions-and-Projections-MAPP/Funding-Opportunities-Funded-Projects/udt_6297_param_page/7/udt_6297_param_orderby/Year_x0020_Initially_x0020_Funded/udt_6297_param_direction/ascending |access-date=2023-08-22 |website=cpo.noaa.gov |archive-date=August 22, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230822030214/https://cpo.noaa.gov/Divisions-Programs/Earth-System-Science-and-Modeling/Modeling-Analysis-Predictions-and-Projections-MAPP/Funding-Opportunities-Funded-Projects/udt_6297_param_page/7/udt_6297_param_orderby/Year_x0020_Initially_x0020_Funded/udt_6297_param_direction/ascending |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last= |title=NASA, USGS Map Minerals to Understand Earth Makeup, Climate Change |url=https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasa-usgs-map-minerals-to-understand-earth-makeup-climate-change |access-date=2023-08-22 |website=NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) |language=en-US |archive-date=August 22, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230822030214/https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasa-usgs-map-minerals-to-understand-earth-makeup-climate-change |url-status=live }}</ref> Occasionally, JPL engages in joint missions or research endeavors with international space agencies or research institutions. While these partnerships contribute a relatively small portion of JPL's overall budget, they serve to enhance the scope and impact of its scientific research and technological development.

The total budget for JPL is subject to annual fluctuations based on both the federal allocation to NASA and the life cycle of ongoing projects. High-profile missions may receive significant long-term funding commitments, whereas smaller or shorter-term projects may have more modest financial support. These agencies often commission projects that leverage JPL's unique expertise in areas like [[remote sensing]], robotics, and systems engineering. Although these projects form a smaller part of JPL's overall budget, they are integral to fulfilling the diverse set of objectives that these federal agencies oversee.

In fiscal year 2022, the laboratory's budget was approximately $2.4 billion, with the largest share going to Planetary Science development.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |title=JPL Annual Reports |url=https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/who-we-are/jpl-annual-reports |access-date=2023-08-22 |website=NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) |language=en-US |archive-date=August 22, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230822030217/https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/who-we-are/jpl-annual-reports |url-status=live }}</ref>

In February and November 2024, due to the overall budget situation and budget shifts in [[Mars Sample Return]] (MSR), the institute laid off approximately 1000 employees and contractors.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |title=JPL layoff news article |url=https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/jpl-workforce-update_-/ |access-date=2024-12-18 |website=NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) |archive-date=December 19, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241219150641/https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/jpl-workforce-update_-/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Peanuts tradition==
[[File:LUCKYPEANUTS.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Linda Spilker]] explains the tradition of lucky peanuts at a gathering for Cassini mission team members, family and friends in Von Karman Auditorium at JPL, 2017]]
There is a tradition at JPL to eat "lucky [[peanut]]s" before critical mission events, such as launches, orbital insertions, or landings. As the story goes, after the [[Ranger program]] had experienced failure after failure during the 1960s, the first successful Ranger mission to impact the Moon occurred after either the [[Ranger 7]] project manager, [[Harris "Bud" Schurmeier]],<ref name=bud/> or the mission trajectory engineer, Dick Wallace,<ref name="Lucky peanuts">{{Cite web|url=https://science.nasa.gov/missions/what-are-jpls-lucky-peanuts/|title=What Are JPL's Lucky Peanuts? - NASA Science|date=October 15, 2021|access-date=June 16, 2025|archive-date=June 16, 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250616211121/https://science.nasa.gov/missions/what-are-jpls-lucky-peanuts/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/images/slice-of-history-60-years-of-ranger/|title=Slice of History - 60 Years of Ranger|website=NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)|access-date=June 16, 2025|archive-date=June 16, 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250616211121/https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/images/slice-of-history-60-years-of-ranger/|url-status=live}}</ref> had decided to pass out peanuts to relieve tension. The staff jokingly decided that the peanuts must have been a good luck charm, and the tradition persisted.<ref name=bud>{{Cite web|url=https://www.discovermagazine.com/the-sciences/peanuts-the-traditional-space-launch-snack|title=Peanuts: The Traditional Space Launch Snack|website=Discover Magazine|access-date=June 1, 2025|archive-date=June 15, 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250615051821/https://www.discovermagazine.com/the-sciences/peanuts-the-traditional-space-launch-snack|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=3081033 |title=NPR All Things Considered interview referring to peanuts tradition |newspaper=NPR.org |access-date=January 3, 2009 |archive-date=February 21, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090221142625/http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=3081033 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.planetary.org/blog/ustream_log_20080525.html |title=Planetary Society chat log for Phoenix referring to peanuts tradition |access-date=January 3, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081121040948/https://www.planetary.org/blog/ustream_log_20080525.html |archive-date=November 21, 2008}}</ref>

==Missions==
[[File:Voyager probes with the outer worlds.jpg|thumb|upright|A poster of the planets and moons visited during the Voyager program]]
[[File:PIA16239 High-Resolution Self-Portrait by Curiosity Rover Arm Camera.jpg|thumb|upright|''[[Curiosity rover]]'' self-portrait in [[Gale Crater]], 2012]]
These are some of the missions partially sponsored by JPL:<ref>{{cite web |author=JPL |url=http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/missions |title=NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory: Missions |publisher=Jpl.nasa.gov |access-date=August 26, 2010 |archive-date=May 27, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100527093510/http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
{{div col|colwidth=22em}}<!-- Please respect alphabetical order -->
*[[ASTERIA (spacecraft)]]
*''[[Cassini–Huygens]]''
*[[CloudSat]]
*[[Deep Space 1]] and [[Deep Space 2|2]]
*[[Europa Clipper]]
*[[Explorer program]]
*[[Galileo Probe|''Galileo'' probe]]
*[[Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment]] (GRACE)
*[[InSight]]
*''[[Juno (spacecraft)|Juno]]''
*[[Magellan probe|''Magellan'' probe]]
*[[Mariner program]]
*[[Mars 2020]]
*[[Mars Climate Orbiter]]
*[[Mars Cube One]]
*[[Mars Exploration Rover Mission]]
*''[[Mars Global Surveyor]]''
*''[[Mars Odyssey]]''
*''[[Mars Pathfinder]]''
*''[[Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter]]''
*[[Mars Science Laboratory]]
*[[NISAR (satellite)|''NISAR'' satellite]]
*[[Ocean Surface Topography Mission]] (OSTM/Jason-2)
*[[Orbiting Carbon Observatory]]
*[[Phoenix (spacecraft)|''Phoenix'' spacecraft]]
*[[Pioneer program|Pioneer 3 and 4]]
*[[Psyche (spacecraft)|Psyche: Journey to a Metal World]]
*[[Ranger program]]
*[[Shuttle Radar Topography Mission]]
*[[Soil Moisture Active Passive]] (SMAP)
*[[Spitzer Space Telescope]]
*''[[Stardust (spacecraft)|Stardust]]''
*[[Surveyor program]]
*[[Surface Water and Ocean Topography|SWOT]]
*[[EnVision|Venus Synthetic Aperture Radar]]
*[[VERITAS (spacecraft)|''VERITAS'' spacecraft]]
*[[Viking program]]
*[[Voyager program]] (''[[Voyager 1]]'' and ''[[Voyager 2]]'')
*[[Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2]]
*[[Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer]]
{{div col end}}

==List of directors==
All of the lab directors hold doctorates in engineering, physics, geology, geochemistry or planetary science. Acting/interim directors tend to be retired military officers with a strong science and organizational background.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/who-we-are/faces-of-leadership-the-directors-of-jpl/ |title=Faces of Leadership: The Directors of JPL |publisher=JPL |access-date=February 16, 2025 |archive-date=February 16, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250216173247/https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/who-we-are/faces-of-leadership-the-directors-of-jpl/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nasa.gov/history/historic-personnel/#centers |title=Personnel |publisher=NASA |access-date=March 26, 2025 |archive-date=April 1, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250401131525/https://www.nasa.gov/history/historic-personnel/#centers |url-status=live }}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!{{abbr|No.|Number}}
!Image
!Director
!Term start
!Term end
!{{abbr|Refs.|References}}
|-
|1
|[[File:Dr. von Kármán, posed in his office chair (cropped).jpg|70px]]
|[[Theodore von Kármán]]
|1938
|1944
|<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/who-we-are/faces-of-leadership-the-directors-of-jpl/dr-theodore-von-karman-1881-1963/ |title=Dr. Theodore von Kármán (1881-1963) |publisher=JPL |access-date=February 16, 2025 |archive-date=October 3, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241003064508/https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/who-we-are/faces-of-leadership-the-directors-of-jpl/dr-theodore-von-karman-1881-1963/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
|-
|2
|[[File:Frank Malina.jpg|70px]]
|[[Frank Malina]]
|1944
|1946
|<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/who-we-are/faces-of-leadership-the-directors-of-jpl/dr-frank-j-malina-1912-1981/ |title=Dr. Frank J. Malina (1912-1981) |publisher=JPL |access-date=February 16, 2025 |archive-date=February 16, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250216173247/https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/who-we-are/faces-of-leadership-the-directors-of-jpl/dr-frank-j-malina-1912-1981/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
|- bgcolor="#e6e6aa"
|acting
|rowspan="2" bgcolor="#ffffff"| <!-- HINT - possible source of public domain images: [  https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/who-we-are/faces-of-leadership-the-directors-of-jpl/dr-louis-g-dunn-1908-1979/  ] -->
|rowspan="2" bgcolor="#ffffff"|[[Louis Dunn]]
|1946
|1947
|<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.galcit.caltech.edu/about/history |title=GALCIT History |publisher=Caltech |access-date=February 18, 2025 |archive-date=March 5, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250305021843/https://www.galcit.caltech.edu/about/history |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/who-we-are/faces-of-leadership-the-directors-of-jpl/dr-louis-g-dunn-1908-1979/ |title=Dr. Louis G. Dunn (1908-1979) |publisher=JPL |access-date=February 16, 2025 |archive-date=February 16, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250216173247/https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/who-we-are/faces-of-leadership-the-directors-of-jpl/dr-louis-g-dunn-1908-1979/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
|-
|3
|1947
|August 31, 1954
|
|-
|4
|[[File:Pickering, Dr William H - 5021504112.jpg|70px]]
|[[William Hayward Pickering]]
|September 1, 1954
|March 31, 1976
|<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/images/slice-of-history-dr-pickering-becomes-lab-director/ |title=Slice of History - Dr. Pickering becomes Lab Director |date=September 1, 2022 |publisher=JPL |access-date=February 18, 2025 |archive-date=February 19, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250219093235/https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/images/slice-of-history-dr-pickering-becomes-lab-director/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://latimes.newspapers.com/newspage/385569706/ |title=Jet Propulsion Chief Named |date=September 2, 1954 |page=36 |url-access=subscription |archive-date=April 15, 2025 |access-date=February 18, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250415151902/https://latimes.newspapers.com/newspage/385569706/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/who-we-are/faces-of-leadership-the-directors-of-jpl/dr-william-h-pickering-1910-2004/ |title=Dr. William H. Pickering (1910-2004) |publisher=JPL |access-date=February 16, 2025 |archive-date=February 16, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250216173247/https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/who-we-are/faces-of-leadership-the-directors-of-jpl/dr-william-h-pickering-1910-2004/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
|-
|5
|[[File:Bruce Murray.jpg|70px]]
|[[Bruce C. Murray]]
|April 1, 1976
|June 30, 1982
|<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.gps.caltech.edu/people/bruce-murray |title=Bruce Murray |publisher=Caltech Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/who-we-are/faces-of-leadership-the-directors-of-jpl/dr-bruce-c-murray-1931-2013/ |title=Dr. Bruce C. Murray (1931-2013) |publisher=JPL |access-date=February 16, 2025 |archive-date=February 17, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250217214310/https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/who-we-are/faces-of-leadership-the-directors-of-jpl/dr-bruce-c-murray-1931-2013/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
|- bgcolor="#e6e6aa"
|Acting
|[[File:Charles H. Terhune.jpg|70px]]
|[[Charles Terhune Jr.]]
|July 1, 1982
|October 1982
|<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/who-we-are/faces-of-leadership-the-directors-of-jpl/gen-charles-h-terhune-1916-2006/ |title=Gen. Charles H. Terhune (1916-2006) |publisher=JPL |access-date=February 16, 2025 |archive-date=February 26, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250226022435/https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/who-we-are/faces-of-leadership-the-directors-of-jpl/gen-charles-h-terhune-1916-2006/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
|-
|6
|[[File:General Lew Allen, official military photo.jpg|70px]]
|[[Lew Allen, Jr.]]
|October 1982
|December 31, 1990
|<ref>{{cite web |url=http://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechOH:OH_Allen_L |title=Lew Allen Oral History Interview, interviewed by Heidi Aspaturian, Caltech Archives Oral History Project, June 10, 1991, April 4, 1994 |page=31}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/who-we-are/faces-of-leadership-the-directors-of-jpl/dr-lew-allen-jr-1925-2010/ |title=Dr. Lew Allen, Jr. (1925-2010) |publisher=JPL |access-date=February 16, 2025 |archive-date=February 23, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250223193259/https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/who-we-are/faces-of-leadership-the-directors-of-jpl/dr-lew-allen-jr-1925-2010/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
|-
|7
|[[File:E1-1980s_Ed_Stone_Portrait.jpg|70px]]
|[[Edward C. Stone]]
|January 1, 1991
|April 30, 2001
|<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/dr-ed-stone-solar-system-explorer/ |title=Dr. Ed Stone, Solar System Explorer |date=January 1, 2001 |publisher=JPL}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/who-we-are/faces-of-leadership-the-directors-of-jpl/dr-edward-c-stone-1936/ |title=Dr. Edward C. Stone (1936-2024) |publisher=JPL |access-date=February 16, 2025 |archive-date=February 18, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250218093014/https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/who-we-are/faces-of-leadership-the-directors-of-jpl/dr-edward-c-stone-1936/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
|-
|8
|[[File:Charles Elachi in 2014.jpg|70px]]
|[[Charles Elachi]]
|May 1, 2001
|June 30, 2016
|<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/charles-elachi-to-retire-as-jpl-director/ |title=Charles Elachi to retire as JPL Director |date=October 28, 2015 |publisher=JPL |access-date=February 16, 2025 |archive-date=February 25, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250225154702/https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/charles-elachi-to-retire-as-jpl-director/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/jplhistory/learnmore/directors.php |title=JPL Directors |publisher=JPL |access-date=August 26, 2010 |archive-date=June 7, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170607183537/https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/jplhistory/learnmore/directors.php |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/who-we-are/faces-of-leadership-the-directors-of-jpl/dr-charles-elachi-1947/ |title=Dr. Charles Elachi (1947- ) |publisher=JPL |access-date=February 16, 2025 |archive-date=February 24, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250224210417/https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/who-we-are/faces-of-leadership-the-directors-of-jpl/dr-charles-elachi-1947/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
|-
|9
|[[File:Michael M. Watkins.jpg|70px]]
|[[Michael M. Watkins]]
|July 1, 2016
|August 20, 2021
|<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=6471 |title=News &#124; Michael Watkins Named Next JPL Director |website=Jet Propulsion Laboratory |date=May 2, 2016 |access-date=August 24, 2016 |archive-date=June 7, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170607073209/https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=6471 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=JPL Director Michael Watkins to Return to Academia |url=https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/jpl-director-michael-watkins-to-return-to-academia |access-date=2021-09-09 |website=NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) |date=August 9, 2021 |archive-date=2021-09-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210909164355/https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/jpl-director-michael-watkins-to-return-to-academia |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/who-we-are/faces-of-leadership-the-directors-of-jpl/dr-michael-watkins-2016/ |title=Dr. Michael Watkins (1962- ) |publisher=JPL}}</ref>
|- bgcolor="#e6e6aa"
|interim
|[[File:Larry D. James, Lt Gen.jpg|70px]]
|[[Larry D. James]]
|August 21, 2021
|May 15, 2022
|<ref name=":0" />
|-
|10
|[[File:Dr. Laurie Leshin.jpg|70px]]
|[[Laurie Leshin]]
|May 16, 2022
|May 31, 2025
|<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/caltech-names-laurie-leshin-director-of-jpl |title=Caltech Names Laurie Leshin Director of JPL |website=Jet Propulsion Laboratory |language=en |access-date=2022-01-27 |archive-date=2022-01-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220127230853/https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/caltech-names-laurie-leshin-director-of-jpl |url-status=live |date=January 27, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://spacenews.com/leshin-to-step-down-as-jpl-director/ |title= Leshin to step down as JPL director |first=Jeff |last=Foust |date=May 7, 2025 |work=[[SpaceNews]]}}</ref>
|-
|11
| [[File:Dave-Gallagher-JPL.jpg|70px]]
|Dave Gallagher
|June 1, 2025
|present
|<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/dave-gallagher-named-11th-director-of-jpl-as-laurie-leshin-steps-down/ |title=Dave Gallagher Named 11th Director of JPL as Laurie Leshin Steps Down |date=May 7, 2025 |publisher=JPL |access-date=May 11, 2025 |archive-date=May 13, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250513074239/https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/dave-gallagher-named-11th-director-of-jpl-as-laurie-leshin-steps-down/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
|-
|}

==Team X==
The JPL Advanced Projects Design Team, also known as Team X, is an interdisciplinary team of engineers that utilizes "concurrent engineering methodologies to complete rapid design, analysis and evaluation of mission concept designs".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://jplteamx.jpl.nasa.gov/ |title=JPL Team X |publisher=Jplteamx.jpl.nasa.gov |date=August 31, 2007 |access-date=August 18, 2010 |archive-date=August 16, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100816113618/http://jplteamx.jpl.nasa.gov/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Controversies==

===Employee background check lawsuit===
{{Main|NASA v. Nelson}}
On February 25, 2005, [[Homeland Security]] Presidential Directive 12 was approved by the [[Secretary of Commerce]].<ref>[http://www.hspd12jpl.org/what_is.html HSPD-12 and JPL Rebadging Overview] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101230061526/http://www.hspd12jpl.org/what_is.html |date=2010-12-30 }}. HSPD12 JPL. Retrieved on 2013-07-21.</ref> This was followed by Federal Information Processing Standards 201 ([[FIPS 201]]), which specified how the federal government should implement personal identity verification. These specifications led to a need for rebadging to meet the updated requirements.

On August 30, 2007, a group of JPL employees filed suit in federal court against NASA, Caltech, and the Department of Commerce, claiming their constitutional rights were being violated by the new, overly invasive background investigations.<ref>[http://hspd12jpl.org Overview] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080103075529/http://hspd12jpl.org/ |date=2008-01-03 }}. HSPD12 JPL. Retrieved on 2013-07-21.</ref> 97% of JPL employees were classified at the low-risk level and would be subjected to the same clearance procedures as those obtaining moderate/high risk clearance. Under HSPD 12 and FIPS 201, investigators have the right to obtain any information on employees, which includes questioning acquaintances on the status of the employee's mental, emotional, and financial stability. Additionally, if employees depart JPL before the end of the two-year validity of the background check, no investigation ability is terminated; former employees can still be legally monitored.

Employees were told that if they did not sign an unlimited waiver of privacy,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://hspd12jpl.org/files/sf85.pdf |title=Questionnaire for Non-Sensitive Positions |author=US Office of Personnel Management |access-date=August 26, 2010 |archive-date=January 18, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110118195900/http://hspd12jpl.org/files/sf85.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> they would be deemed to have "voluntarily resigned".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://hspd12jpl.org/files/Declaration_of_Cozette_Hart.pdf |title=Declaration of Cozette Hart, JPL Human Resources Director |date=October 1, 2007 |access-date=August 26, 2010 |archive-date=July 26, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726160928/http://hspd12jpl.org/files/Declaration_of_Cozette_Hart.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit]] found the process violated the employees' privacy rights and issued a preliminary injunction.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://hspd12jpl.org/files/Order_01_11_08.pdf |title=Nelson v. NASA – Preliminary Injunction issued by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit |date=Jan 11, 2008 |access-date=August 26, 2010 |archive-date=July 26, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726160949/http://hspd12jpl.org/files/Order_01_11_08.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> NASA appealed and the US Supreme Court granted [[certiorari]] on March 8, 2010. On January 19, 2011, the Supreme Court overturned the Ninth Circuit decision, ruling that the background checks did not violate any constitutional privacy right that the employees may have had.<ref>{{cite court |opinion=No. 09-530 |court=U.S. |date=January 19, 2011 |litigants=National Aeronautics and Space Administration et al. v. Nelson et al. |url=https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/10pdf/09-530.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170810074442/https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/10pdf/09-530.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

===''Coppedge v Jet Propulsion Laboratory''===

On March 12, 2012, the [[Los Angeles Superior Court]] took opening statements on the case in which former JPL employee David Coppedge brought suit against the lab due to workplace discrimination and wrongful termination. In the suit, Coppedge alleges that he first lost his "team lead" status on JPL's ''[[Cassini-Huygens]]'' mission in 2009 and then was fired in 2011 because of his evangelical Christian beliefs and specifically his belief in [[intelligent design]]. Conversely, JPL, through the [[Caltech]] lawyers representing the laboratory, allege that Coppedge's termination was simply due to budget cuts and his demotion from team lead was because of harassment complaints and from on-going conflicts with his co-workers.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.foxnews.com/science/former-nasa-specialist-claims-he-was-fired-over-intelligent-design |work=Fox News |title=Former NASA specialist claims he was fired over intelligent design |date=March 11, 2012 |access-date=March 12, 2012 |archive-date=March 12, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120312142641/http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2012/03/11/former-nasa-specialist-claims-was-fired-over-intelligent-design/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Superior Court Judge Ernest Hiroshige issued a final ruling in favor of JPL on January 16, 2013.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://articles.lacanadaonline.com/2013-01-17/news/tn-818-0117-judge-confirms-earlier-ruling-sides-with-jpl-in-intelligent-design-case_1_david-coppedge-james-zapp-jpl-attorneys |work=La Canada Valley Sun |title=Judge confirms earlier ruling, sides with JPL in 'intelligent design' case |date=January 17, 2013 |access-date=2013-01-21 |archive-date=2013-01-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130123010444/http://articles.lacanadaonline.com/2013-01-17/news/tn-818-0117-judge-confirms-earlier-ruling-sides-with-jpl-in-intelligent-design-case_1_david-coppedge-james-zapp-jpl-attorneys |url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Gallery==

<gallery mode=packed heights=250px>
Image:Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena CA (21030091981).jpg|A 2015 photo of JPL from above

Image:Human computers - a computer in the control room at JPL tracks Mariner 2 - reached Venus in 1962.jpg|Human computers in the control room at JPL tracking [[Mariner 2]]

Image:Galileo in JPL's High Bay 1 (PIA23616).jpg|[[Galileo (spacecraft)|''Galileo'' spacecraft]] in JPL's High Bay

Image:Spacecraft Assembly Room @ JPL (19322114182).jpg|Spacecraft assembly room at JPL

Image:JPL aerodynamic noise facility 383-5765ac.jpg|Aerodynamic noise facility at JPL ({{circa|1970}})

Image:JPL Pneumatic cannon used in impact testing 355-1387bc.jpg|Pneumatic cannon in JPL's impact testing facility

Image:NASA Perseverance Rover Lands on Mars (NHQ202102180066).jpg|JPL employees celebrate the landing of the [[Perseverance rover]] in JPL's mission control.

Image:PIA23923-MarsPerseveranceRover-TeamMembers-20190717.jpg|Mars [[Perseverance rover]] team in front of JPL's administration building
</gallery>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
*Conway, Erik M. ''Exploration and Engineering: The Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the Quest for Mars'' (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2016) 405 pp.
* {{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YXSxmgVLhskC |title=Into the Black: JPL and the American Space Program, 1976-2004 |isbn=978-0-300-13458-2 |last1=Westwick |first1=Peter J. |date=October 2008 |publisher=Yale University Press }}
* [https://archive.today/20240922125409/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/interactive/2024/dave-eggers-jet-propulsion-laboratory-nasa-who-is-government/ "The Searchers"], The Washington Post, 2024

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Jet Propulsion Laboratory}}
*{{Official website|http://www.jpl.nasa.gov}}
*{{cite web |title=JPL and the Space Age: Explorer I |date=January 31, 2022 |publisher=NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory |website=YouTube |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qyphzmuzF18 |access-date=April 6, 2022 |archive-date=April 6, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220406142159/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qyphzmuzF18 |url-status=live }}
*{{cite web |title=JPL and the Space Age: Destination Moon |date=March 15, 2022 |publisher=NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory |website=YouTube |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UupndWl0G_I}}
*{{cite web |title=JPL and the Space Age: The Changing Face of Mars |date=March 31, 2022 |publisher=NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory |website=YouTube |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaSaVanPysA}}

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