NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory Announces Explore JPL Open House on October 10-11

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is preparing to welcome the public to its campus at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains in Southern California for its "Explore JPL" open-house event. The event is scheduled for October 10 and 11, running from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. PDT on both days. This year, JPL celebrates its 90th anniversary.

Visitors to Explore JPL will have the chance to tour some of the laboratory's most iconic facilities and delve into four thematic areas: Missions That Changed the World, Moon to Mars, In Flight, and Makerspace. The event aims to educate the public about space exploration, robotics, and the technology developed at JPL.

Highlights of the event include visits to the legendary Space Flight Operations Facility, a National Historic Landmark, and the Spacecraft Assembly Facility and JPL Machine Shop. Guests can also observe cutting-edge innovations in robotics research, from autonomous lunar rovers to search-and-rescue robots. Full-scale models of missions such as the Mars Perseverance rover, Voyager, and Galileo will be on display, and the Microdevices Laboratory will showcase miniature technologies relevant to space exploration and Earth science.

Tickets for the popular event are free but limited and have historically sold out quickly. They will be made available on the Explore JPL webpage starting Sunday, August 29, at 9 a.m. PDT. Tickets will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis, with a limit of five tickets per requestor. Each ticket must be reserved for a specific name and time slot, and attendees aged 18 or over must present government-issued identification for admission. Tickets are non-transferable and cannot be sold.

JPL, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, traces its origins to rocket-propulsion development in 1936. By 1958, the lab had developed America’s first satellite, Explorer 1. Later that year, JPL became part of the newly established NASA. The laboratory has since managed historic missions including Voyager, Galileo, Cassini, the Mars Exploration Rover program, the Perseverance Mars rover, and Europa Clipper.

Certain items are prohibited at the event, including weapons, explosives, glass containers, alcohol, cannabis, illegal drugs, pets (except certified service animals), banners, signs, professional camera equipment with detachable telephoto lenses, and drones. Large bags, backpacks, and hard-sided coolers are not permitted, though small purses and diaper bags are allowed. Parking is free on JPL property, and all vehicles entering are subject to inspection.

According to NASA Breaking News, children under two years old do not require a ticket, but the event's experiences are not designed for very young guests.