Jet Propulsion Laboratory

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory is a NASA federally funded research and development center in Pasadena, California, that designs and operates robotic space missions.

Voyager program: A pair of NASA spacecraft launched in 1977 to study the outer planets and interstellar space. JPL built and operates the probes, whose extended journey became one of its defining missions.
Systems engineering: An engineering discipline that coordinates components and teams to meet the requirements of a complex system. JPL uses it to integrate spacecraft hardware, software, science instruments, and mission plans.
Guggenheim Aeronautical Laboratory: A California Institute of Technology research laboratory that supported early American aeronautics and rocketry. JPL grew from rocketry experiments conducted by Caltech researchers and students there.
Theodore von Kármán: A Hungarian-American engineer and physicist who helped establish modern aeronautics and applied mathematics. As Caltech's aeronautics director, he supported the early rocket group that became JPL.
Mariner program: A series of NASA robotic missions that explored Mercury, Venus, and Mars between 1962 and 1975. JPL's Mariner spacecraft delivered the first close-up views of several neighboring planets.
Mars Science Laboratory: A NASA mission that delivered the Curiosity rover to Mars in 2012. JPL developed and operates Curiosity to investigate Mars's habitability and geology.
Spacecraft propulsion: Methods of producing thrust to change a spacecraft's velocity or orientation. Propulsion choices determine how JPL spacecraft reach targets and maneuver in space.
Frank Malina: An American aerospace engineer who helped establish early liquid-fueled rocket research at Caltech. Malina led the group whose work became the laboratory's foundation.
William H. Pickering: A New Zealand-born engineer who directed JPL from 1954 to 1976. Pickering led JPL through its transition to NASA and its first successful deep-space missions.
Viking program: A NASA mission that sent two orbiters and landers to Mars in 1976. JPL's Viking landers began sustained surface science on Mars and tested for signs of life.

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