JPL Welcome & Introduction

Charles Elachi, DirectorMay 12, 2015

American Astronautical Society Meeting

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2001 Mars Odyssey

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter

Mars Express (ESA)

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Now: A continuous robotic presence on and in-orbit around Mars

Opportunity

Curiosity

Opportunity’s tracks • Meridiani Planum

“Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail”

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

The Mars Science Laboratory mission, with its Curiosity rover, is exploring Gale Crater to understand the habitability of Mars, its potential for preserving organic materials, and the major environmental transitions in its early history

Sulfate Unit (8 km)

Hematite Ridge (5 km)

Murray Formation(arrived Sept. 2014)

Clay Unit (6 km)

Mars Science Laboratory:Mission to Mount Sharp

Mount Sharp

Gale Crater

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Curiosity’s Current LocationLogan Pass

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Curiosity is exploring a hypothesis that south-tilted sandstone beds on Gale Crater’s plains indicate water-driven transport of sediment, building lower Mount Sharp from lake deposits

NASA/JPL-Caltech/GSFC

Possible lake deposits at the base of Mount Sharp

Mount Sharp

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Curiosity’s Radiation Assessment Detector measures high-energy radiation

The RAD instrument measured the radiation flux from both galactic cosmic rays and solar energetic particles, in cruise and at Mars’ surface

If shielded similarly to the RAD instrument, a crewed mission would receive ~1 Sievert of exposure in a round trip to Mars with 500 sols on the surface

[Hassler et al., 2014]

Hard Solar Event

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Cassini

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10 Years at Saturn

Lakes and Seas Dunes

MountainsClouds

Dry River Beds

Titan: An Earth-Like World

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Successful Mission to Mercury

Messenger – Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory

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March 6, 2015 4:39 AM PSTDawn arrives at Ceres

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Europa

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25th Anniversary

Hubble Space Telescope – Goddard Space Flight Center

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Exoplanet Travel BureauEarth Size Planets in Habitable Zone: 10

Confirmed Planets: 1,832

Planet Candidates: 3,613

SMAP Radar Data Characteristics of Land Cover March 31- April 3, 2015

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Multiple Ways to View a Changing Earth

Global • Satellites Regional • Airborne Local • In Situ

MISR aerosols

MLS ozone layer

TES trace gas

AIRS atmospheric temperature

CLOUDSAT water content

JASON sea surface height

QUIKSCAT wind

GRACE gravity

Aquariussea surface salinity

OCO-2Carbon Dioxide

RapidScatwind

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December 4, 2014

Orion First Test Flight

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NASA’s Upcoming Major Events (some examples)

Dawn mapping Ceres (JPL/Orbital) April 2015 – June 2016

New Horizons arrives at Pluto (APL)July 14, 2015

Jason 3 Launch (JPL/CNES)July 22, 2015

Juno arrives at Jupiter (JPL/LMA) July 4, 2016

Insight Launch (JPL/LMA)March 2016

LDSD Test Launch (JPL)June 2-12, 2015