Editing Jet Propulsion Laboratory (section)

==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=Archived copy |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" />

Additionally, 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.

=== 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 |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}}</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>