Jet Propulsion Laboratory

On May 22, 2026, NASA announced plans to open competition for the management contract of JPL, which since its founding has been operated by Caltech. Caltech’s agreement concludes in September 2028, marking a potential historic shift in JPL’s administration.

On July 30, 2020, JPL launched the Mars 2020 mission, deploying the Perseverance rover along with the Ingenuity helicopter. Perseverance aims to seek signs of ancient life and collect samples for future return, while Ingenuity performed the first powered flight on another planet—advancing planetary aviation.

On August 6, 2003, JPL’s Mars Science Laboratory mission, featuring the Curiosity rover, landed successfully on Mars. Curiosity began exploring Gale Crater, conducting detailed analysis of the planet’s geology and climate, and searching for signs of past habitability.

In September 1977, JPL launched the twin Voyager spacecraft—Voyager 2 on August 20 and Voyager 1 on September 5—initiating a Grand Tour of the outer planets. These missions revolutionized knowledge of the solar system and remain the farthest human-made objects in space.

On November 14, 1971, JPL’s Mariner 9 spacecraft became the first artificial satellite to orbit another planet—Mars. It successfully imaged nearly the entire Martian surface, vastly improving understanding of Martian geography, geology, and previously unseen features.

On August 27, 1962, JPL’s Mariner 2 spacecraft conducted the first successful flyby of another planet—Venus. This groundbreaking mission marked JPL’s entry into interplanetary exploration, providing critical data on Venus’ atmosphere and temperature and demonstrating its growing prowess in deep‑space missions.

On December 3, 1958, JPL was officially transferred from U.S. Army jurisdiction to the newly formed National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), becoming the agency’s premier center for robotic spacecraft and planetary exploration conducted by Caltech under NASA sponsorship.

On January 31, 1958, JPL launched Explorer 1—the United States’ first successful satellite—using a modified Juno I rocket. The mission featured a Geiger counter payload that discovered the Van Allen radiation belts, propelling the U.S. into the Space Age and highlighting JPL’s emergence as a spacecraft‑building organization.

On May 22, 1947, JPL successfully launched the Corporal E Round 31 guided missile at the U.S. Army's White Sands Proving Ground, reaching new milestones in range and control. This launch demonstrated JPL’s growing technical sophistication in missile technology and systems testing.

In December 1944, JPL developed the U.S.’s first guided ballistic missile, the “Corporal.” This milestone represented a critical advance in rocketry, showcasing guidance, propulsion, and systems engineering capabilities that would underpin future space exploration efforts.

In November 1943, the group began referring to itself as the “Jet Propulsion Laboratory” in documents and communications, formalizing the name that would become synonymous with U.S. rocket and spacecraft development. At this point, JPL became an Army‑contracted facility managed by Caltech, cementing its institutional identity.

In early 1939, the GALCIT Rocket Project began its first U.S. Army contract to develop Jet‑Assisted Take‑Off (JATO) rockets. Under von Kármán’s leadership, Caltech transformed its research into practical powered flight aids, marking JPL’s initial transition from academic experiments to government‑funded rocketry development.

On October 31, 1936, Caltech graduate students and amateur rocket enthusiasts including Frank Malina conducted the first tests of an alcohol‑fueled rocket motor in the Arroyo Seco riverbed, marking the experimental origins of what would become the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. This daring—and dangerous—test initiated organized rocket experimentation under the Guggenheim Aeronautical Laboratory (GALCIT) at Caltech, laying the foundation for early U.S. rocketry research.