The National Archives asks JPL to develop a method to determine the condition of the Charters of Freedom, which are the original United States Constitution, Delaration of Independence and Bill of Rights. Before this time, the documents are stored in helium-filled glass cases which can be damaged by light, vibration and humidity.

JPL scientists adapt imaging technology used in spacecraft to create the Charters of Freedom Monitoring System. The system scans the documents at intervals, then compares the differences between the images, thus detecting changes in contrast, shape and other features.