The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is a federally funded research and development center and NASA field center, located in the Los Angeles neighborhood of La Cañada Flintridge, California, United States. JPL is managed by the nearby California Institute of Technology (Caltech) for NASA. 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. JPL was conceived during a meeting between Caltech professors and U.S. Army officials in 1936 to develop rocket technology for military applications. The lab's earliest missions included the exploration of Earth's upper atmosphere; it diversified into studying the solar system as space technology improved. JPL has been responsible for numerous significant robotic space missions, including Voyager, Mars Exploration Rovers (e.g., Spirit and Opportunity), and the Cassini-Huygens mission to Saturn. JPL is also involved in various Earth science missions, such as the Earth Observing System (EOS) and the Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO).
Translations: JPL in Hebrew is מעבדת ההנעה בירח (Ma'abadat HaHinaya BeYareah). In Spanish, it is Laboratorio de Propulsión a Chorro. In French, it is Laboratoire de propulsion par réaction. In German, it is Jet Propulsion Laboratory (no direct translation).
Research and development center and NASA field center in California, United States
The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is a federally funded research and development center in La Cañada Flintridge, California, Crescenta Valley, United States. Founded in 1936 by California Institute of Technology (Caltech) researchers, the laboratory is now owned and sponsored by NASA and administered and managed by Caltech.