NASA JPL Looks to Next 90 Years of Innovation, Exploration
The Jet Propulsion Laboratory is marking 90 years of space exploration by looking ahead to upcoming missions like interplanetary probes, lunar drones, and advanced Earth-monitoring satellites. The research center traces its origins to a 1936 rocket test in Pasadena conducted by Caltech graduate stud…
The Jet Propulsion Laboratory is marking 90 years of space exploration by looking ahead to upcoming missions like interplanetary probes, lunar drones, and advanced Earth-monitoring satellites. The research center traces its origins to a 1936 rocket test in Pasadena conducted by Caltech graduate students. Managed by Caltech for NASA, the lab later built America’s first successful science satellite, Explorer 1, in 1958.
JPL director Dave Gallagher stated that the lab is preparing several ambitious launches for the coming years. Scheduled for 2027, the SunRISE mission will use six small satellites flying in formation to study solar activity. Aiming for 2028, the SkyFall mission will deploy three helicopters mid-descent over Mars to map ice and weather, while the MoonFall mission will land propulsive drones at the lunar South Pole.
The lab is also developing the NEO Surveyor to hunt for hazardous asteroids and building instruments to track Earth's water movement, storms, and air pollution. Additionally, JPL's Microdevices Laboratory created the camera-on-a-chip technology used in modern cellphones and is developing detectors for NASA's newly announced PRIMA astrophysics mission.
WireUnWired turns the supplied report into a clearer brief, preserves the original publisher and author details, and adds relevant context without hiding where the information came from.
Relevant WireUnWired coverage is connected so one story can lead into the larger technology context.
Original publication: 22 October 2026 00:05
NASA — Recently PublishedNASA Invites Media to the 2026 von Braun Space Exploration Symposium at the University of Alabama
Space.comOn this day in space! Oct. 22, 1992: Ashes of 'Star Trek' creator Gene Roddenberry launch into space on NASA shuttleSpace.comArtemis II Astronaut Reveals False Cabin Leak Warning Nearly Derailed NASA Moon Mission on April 2