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Many people visit the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in person or virtually through our web sites. But those visitors see some work-in-progress or the results of our work. They do not get the complete picture of the
life cycle of a planetary mission from initial brainstorming through the collection and analysis of data. Although it takes years, sometimes decades, for a mission to move from the germ of an idea through the
collection and analysis of data, it is possible to take a walking tour of JPL and visit the spots where each part of the mission unfolds.
In the JPL "Mission Life Cycle" tour, visitors start in the Project Design Center where ideas are first conceptualized. Various spacecraft configurations and mission scenarios can be examined to determine if the mission can be performed.
Location: Project Design Center
Presenting Engineer: Farisa Morales
The Micro-Devices Lab is home to the facilities that are inventing ever smaller devices and components that are allowing our spacecraft to shrink in size while growing in capability.
Location: Micro-Devices Laboratory
Presenting Engineer: Paula Grunthaner
The In-Situ Instruments Laboratory has a "Mars Yard" with rocks, soil and lighting comparable to Mars. Landers and rovers can be tested to ensure that they can navigate across planetary surfaces and that their on-board sensors and computers will steer them safely with little or no human guidance.
Location: In-Situ Instruments Laboratory
Presenting Engineers: Sara Gavit and Jeniffer Trosper
In the Hi-Bay cleanroom of the Observational Instruments Lab are instruments that are being built, tested, and prepared for flight.
Location: Observational Instruments Laboratory
Presenting Engineer: Valerie DuVal
At JPL's Fabrication Shop craftsmen shape materials into flight and test hardware to engineers' exacting specifications.
Location: Fabrication Shop
Presenting Engineer: Sharon Langenbeck
Hi-Bay 2 of the Spacecraft Assembly Facility is one of the largest cleanrooms with such a high level of air purity. Here is where the parts come together to make the spacecraft.
Location: Spacecraft Assembly Facility
Presenting Engineer: Julie Webster
SFOF, the Space Flight Operations Facility, is 'mission control' for robotic spacecraft in deep space. It is the control center for the world-wide network of tracking antennas used to maintain communications with spacecraft beyond earth orbit.
Location: Space Flight Operations Facility
Presenting Engineer: Eileen Theilig
The Multi-mission Image Processing Lab is where image data from the spacecraft is turned from strings of zeros and ones into pictures.
Location: Multi-mission Image Processing Lab
Presenting Engineer: Sue LaVoie
By walking through these key JPL buildings, visitors can see how missions are conceived, developed, and, ultimately, fulfill their destiny by returning scientific data.
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