Explore JPL (NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory)
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov
This past weekend my family and I once again traveled to Pasadena, CA for the JPL NASA "Explore" weekend (their annual public Open House event). This year JPL used a free ticket system to better plan and control the number of attendees entering the JPL campus for the event and what an improvement from last year. Many people online were quite upset at this change and were unable to acquire tickets before the event "sold out" on the website, but I am here to say it was wonderful! The lines were shorter and you could attend more of the various activities and tours across the JPL campus. Overall this year was calmer and so much easier to see everything in greater detail.
We were in the first group (8:30 AM) to enter the JPL campus and immediately made our way over to the Spaceflight Operations Facility for the tour of the Mission Control area (where you get to see the celebrations of a successful mission against the large US flag and sea of computer consoles and exuberant mission specialists) and see where they manage all of the currently active missions (e.g. Voyager I & II, Cassini, Mars Opportunity & Spirit rovers, Mars Curiosity rover, Dawn, New Horizons, Juno ... and many more). Next we head over to the Spacecraft Assembly Building (the "clean room") that is used to assemble, test, and prepare the various spacecraft and rovers before they are sent off on a rocket to start their journey of exploration.
"Explore JPL" (a.k.a. the JPL Open House) is a once a year event held over a weekend in the late Spring where the public is invited to "see what they pay for" (e.i. what your taxes fund) and get to meet and talk with the various staff at JPL, see the "twins" of the Mars rovers (they always build 2 - one to send to Mars and another to use for testing here on Earth), and learn about how they build these incredible spacecraft. As it was last year, the best part of the tour is being able to talk to the JPL staff - each with a unique story to tell and important roll to play in the success of these amazing missions. You will meet young women and men who control multi-million dollar spacecraft on a daily basis, engineers who design and build spacecraft, machinists who create unique parts used in the spacecraft, project managers and accountants and educators who strive behind the scenes to provide critical support to the programs. While the rovers receive the brunt of the lime light, without the tireless efforts of all of the people at JPL the missions would not succeed.
If you want to attend next year, keep an eye on the JPL website and sign up ASAP once they announce the date be sure to get up early on the date of the registration and keep refreshing the browser until you get your tickets. JPL is close to downtown Pasadena, CA where there are lots of neat museums and shops to check out before and after the Explore event. JPL is also an hour away (with good traffic) from the California Science Center where you can see the Space Shuttle Endeavour and many other excellent exhibits. The Explore JPL is something that anyone with an interest in space exploration should try to visit once.
Enjoy!
