Jet Propulsion Laboratory

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is a federally funded research and development center and NASA field center, located in the Los Angeles County city of Pasadena, California, United States. JPL is managed by the nearby California Institute of Technology (Caltech) for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The laboratory's primary function is the construction and operation of planetary robotic spacecraft, though it also conducts Earth-orbit and astronomy missions. It is also responsible for operating NASA's Deep Space Network.

In Hebrew, JPL is known as מעבדות ההנעה בירח (Ma'abarot HaHenaya BeYareach). In Spanish, it is called Laboratorio de Propulsión a Chorro, and in French, it is referred to as Laboratoire de propulsion par réaction.

Established in the 1930s through a partnership between Caltech and Dr. Jack Parsons, the laboratory has been responsible for numerous significant achievements in space exploration, including the development of the first American satellite, Explorer 1, and the Mars rovers, Spirit, Opportunity, and Curiosity. JPL's spacecraft have visited all the planets in the solar system except Pluto, with the Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 missions having achieved the first-ever "grand tour" of the solar system's outer planets. The laboratory is also involved in various Earth science missions and astronomy projects, contributing to a broader understanding of our planet and the universe.