Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Founded by Caltech faculty and students in 1936, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is the leading U.S. center for robotic space exploration, managed by Caltech for NASA. Located just six miles from campus on the border between Pasadena and La Cañada Flintridge, JPL’s just under 6000 employees are tightly connected to the campus research mission and together enable the Institute to push the frontiers of space and Earth science. JPL is currently responsible for operating more than three dozen missions and instruments, including the Curiosity and Perseverance Mars rovers, Juno Jupiter orbiter, and the Psyche mission to a metal asteroid – all of which are pioneering new approaches for space exploration. Caltech and JPL engage in collaborations and joint appointments of faculty, lecturers, and visitors. Learn more at jpl.nasa.gov.