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Jet Propulsion Laboratory (U.S.)

A pioneering American research center that helped turn early rocket experiments into some of the most famous robotic missions in space history. Managed by Caltech for NASA, it has shaped how we explore Mars, the outer planets, and Earth from orbit.

1 Audiobook

Mariner Mission to Venus

Mariner Mission to Venus

by Jet Propulsion Laboratory (U.S.)

About the author

Founded in 1936 by researchers at the California Institute of Technology, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory grew out of early rocket work in Southern California and later became part of NASA's story. Today it is a federally funded research and development center managed by Caltech for NASA, with a long-standing role in robotic space exploration and Earth science.

JPL is especially known for missions that brought distant worlds closer to the public imagination. Its work has included Mars rovers, deep-space probes such as Voyager, and spacecraft that have studied planets, moons, asteroids, and our own planet from orbit.

Beyond the missions themselves, JPL represents a mix of engineering, science, and problem-solving at a very practical scale: building spacecraft, testing new technologies, and turning ambitious ideas into working tools for discovery. That blend of bold exploration and hands-on invention is a big part of what makes its story so enduring.