Missions
The Astronomy and Physics Directorate develops and operates a wide variety of missions and instruments exploring our universe, ranging from the first probe to go beyond our solar system, to studying the dawn of the universe, and exploring the vast array of exoplanets. Our missions operate in unique environments as well, from onboard a 747 airplane to the International Space Station, from geosynchronous Earth orbit to 1.5 million km from Earth at the Lagrange point. Once our satellites or instruments are above the Earth’s atmosphere or in a microgravity environment, new windows of astronomy and physics are opened up.
Operating Missions
Currently operating missions in the Directorate span an incredible diversity of topics, as well as lifetimes. Voyager 1 and 2 have exploring our heliosphere and solar system since 1977, while the Deep Space Atomic Clock launched in 2019 in order to demonstrate orders of magnitude improvement in the technology needed for precision navigation and timekeeping. HAWC+ is an infrared polarimeter that operates on NASA’s SOFIA airborne observatory, and NuSTAR is an Explorer mission that uses X-rays to study some of the most energetic objects in our universe from an equatorial low Earth orbit.
Missions in Development
The Astronomy and Physics Directorate is developing several missions and instruments. SPHEREx is an Explorer mission for NASA which will be the first all-sky infrared spectral survey, launching in 2024. SunRISE is a constellation of six smallsats that spread out over 10 km in a super geosynchronous orbit and form a synthetic radio telescope for studying coronal mass ejections from the sun. These very diverse missions are just two examples of the projects in development today. The Directorate is also very active in building significant instruments for partner-led missions, such as the Coronograph Instrument on the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, which will demonstrate precision starlight suppression allowing for directly imaging larger planets around sun-like stars.
Past Missions
Over the past decades, Astronomy and Physics at JPL has managed several ground-breaking missions, including the Spitzer Space Observatory—one of NASA’s Great Observatories, which made breakthrough measurements of the infrared universe. From a Great Observatory to the first precision cubesat for astronomy (ASTERIA), JPL’s rich history in missions have contributed to a greater understanding of our place in the cosmos.
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