This graphical timeline shows the launch dates of the more than 100 missions that JPL has either managed or participated in since 1958 — and has planned through 2019. JPL is inviting members of the public to submit their own space and mission-themed visualizations as part of its newly-launched JPL Infographics website. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech A new JPL website is offering up NASA graphics, ... More »
The new amplifier consists of a superconducting material (niobium titanium nitride) coiled into a double spiral 16 millimeters in diameter. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech Researchers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the California Institute of Technology, both in Pasadena, have developed a new type of amplifier for boosting electrical signals. The device can be used for everything from stud... More »
The Curiosity rover and its sky crane separate from the back which helped protect both during entry in the Martian atmosphere. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech One month and a day after celebrating its independence with fireworks exhibitions throughout the country, America will carry its penchant for awe-inspiring aerial pyrotechnic displays to the skies of another world. Some pyrotechnics will be a... More »
NASA’s Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, or NuSTAR, has taken its first snapshots of the highest energy X-rays in the cosmos, the same kind used by doctors to take pictures of your bones. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech NuSTAR Mission Status Report NASA’s Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, or NuSTAR, has snapped its first test images of the sizzling high-energy X-ray universe. The observat... More »
A particularly strong jet stream churns through Saturn’s northern hemisphere in this false-color view from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SSI Turbulent jet streams, regions where winds blow faster than in other places, churn east and west across Saturn. Scientists have been trying to understand for years the mechanism that drives these wavy structures in Saturn’s atmosph... More »
NASA’s Mars Odyssey spacecraft passes above Mars’ south pole in this artist’s concept illustration. The spacecraft has been orbiting Mars since October 24, 2001. Image credit: NASA/JPL Mars Odyssey Mission Status Report NASA’s Mars Odyssey orbiter has been taken out of a protective status called safe mode. Remaining steps toward resuming all normal spacecraft activities will probably be completed ... More »
This artist’s concept shows NASA’s two Voyager spacecraft exploring a turbulent region of space known as the heliosheath, the outer shell of the bubble of charged particles around our sun. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech Data from NASA’s Voyager 1 spacecraft indicate that the venerable deep-space explorer has encountered a region in space where the intensity of charged particles from beyond our sol... More »
NASA’s Mars Odyssey spacecraft passes above Mars’ south pole in this artist’s concept illustration. The spacecraft has been orbiting Mars since October 24, 2001. Image credit: NASA/JPL Mars Odyssey Mission Status Report In a step toward returning NASA’s Mars Odyssey orbiter to full service, mission controllers have tested a spare reaction wheel on the spacecraft for potential use with two other re... More »
This artist’s conception shows a newly formed star surrounded by a swirling protoplanetary disk of dust and gas. Debris coalesces to create rocky ‘planetesimals’ that collide and grow to eventually form planets. The results of this study show that small planets form around stars with a wide range of heavy element content, suggesting that their existence might be widespread in the galaxy. Credit: U... More »
NASA’s NuSTAR and its rocket drop from the carrier “Stargazer” plane. Image Credit: Orbital Sciences Corporation. NASA’s Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) launched into the morning skies over the central Pacific Ocean at 9 a.m. PDT (noon EDT) Wednesday, beginning its mission to unveil secrets of buried black holes and other exotic objects. “We all eagerly await the launch of this nove... More »
