15 Amazing Years Elachi to Retire As JPL Director Next June by Mark Whalen

NOVEMBER Jet Propulsion 2015 Laboratory VOLUME 45

NUMBER 11 15 amazing years Elachi to retire as JPL director next June By Mark Whalen

“What a privilege and honor it has been to be your director and your colleague.” Photo by Dan Goods JPL Director Charles Elachi address employees at the State of the Lab address Oct. 28. Elachi plans to retire next June..

The most significant news revealed to happen,” Elachi told employees. “I Jason 3. Orbit insertion for Juno at in JPL Director Charles Elachi’s an- want to take this opportunity to thank Jupiter will provide fireworks July 4, nual State of the Lab address Oct. 28 you. What a privilege and honor it has and InSight’s landing is due Sept. 28. was not about a mission, a process or been to be your director and your col- Over the next decade, Elachi said, a budget. league.” “having a coherent, long-term pro- Elachi announced his intention to Elachi will become a professor emer- gram is essential. In this case, it’s not retire from JPL next June. And in ap- itus at Caltech, where he now teaches. every mission on its own; as we all preciation for his 46 years on Lab and He said the retirement would allow him know, Curiosity and Opportunity rely 15 years as director, the packed house to continue doing research on Cassini heavily on Mars Reconnaissance Or- in Pickering Auditorium responded radar and other projects. biter and the Odyssey orbiter to relay with a standing ovation at the event’s For now, JPL’s challenging portfolio all the data down to Earth.” conclusion. continues apace in 2016. The director Elachi said the intent is to consider “We’ll still have eight months to- noted InSight’s launch to Mars March a Mars orbiter with a refurbished tele- gether, with a lot of exciting things 4, as well as the upcoming launch for communications infrastructure that will

Continued on page 2 astronauts tospenda significantof added thatthemissionwould allow allow ustomoveheavymass.” He compared towhatDawnhas.Thiswill propulsion that’s a factor of five or10 “It’s really aboutdevelopingelectric ing backanasteroid,” notedElachi. sion ismuchbroader thanjustbring in themission. proposals from industry toparticipate agency recently released arequest for 6-meter boulderfrom theasteroid. The with anchoring grippers to retrieve a Earth asteroid anduserobotic arms would rendezvous withalarge near- Robotic Mission,inwhichaspacecraft lead centerfortheAsteroid Redirect missions inthe2030timeframe. of thesurfaceinpreparation forhuman also playarole inthereconnaissance STATE OFTHELAB JPL DirectorCharlesElachireceivedastandingovationafterhisannualStateoftheLabaddress. delivering onourpromise, making therightcommitment, “Keep doingwhatyou’re doing—by beingsuccessfuland “The Asteroid Redirect RoboticMis NASA hasconfirmedJPLasthe stretching thelimitsandinspiringpublic.” Continued from page1 JPL Director CharlesElachi - - budget isanticipated. Elachisaidthe includes thefiscalyear2016 NASA year, avoteonanomnibusbillthat Dec. 11.Bytheendof calendar der acontinuingresolution through Titan.” to explore alltheicymoons,including Discovery missions, that will allow us from flagshipstoNewFrontiers to to haveaseriesofmissions,ranging oceans inthesolarsystem.We want long-term program ofexploringour he said.“Europa isasteptoward a ward findinglifeinoursolarsystem,” to potentiallytakethenextstep said Elachi.“Itgivesustheopportunity ing missions in the coming decade, around alow-gravityobject. how to operate themselves in learning time indeepspaceandrely mostlyon The federalbudgetisoperatingun Europa willbeoneofthemostexcit - - - Photo by Dan Goods tion today,” thedirector said.Butit’s sions, 13orbitingmissionsinopera collection ofEarth-observationmis $200 millionmore forplanetary. for EarthscienceandtheHouseabout the Senatehaving$200millionmore about thesametotal for science—with for themission. develop atelescopeandcoronagraph of Sciencesdecadalsurvey. JPLwill fied inthe2010NationalAcademy the toppriorityspacemissionidenti Wide-Field Infrared SurveyTelescope, solid supportintheSenatefor overall science budget is fairly stable. that’s whythey cometous.” ing thelimitsandinspiring public, making therightcommitment, stretch ful anddeliveringonour promise, what you’re doing.Bybeingsuccess mighty thingsyoualldo. work. We thembecauseofthe earned work, thepassionyouputinyour them becauseofyouringenuity, hard ployees. “We them.We earned earned old-fashioned way, Elachitoldem money.” exciting missionsthanjusthavemore have alittlebitlessmoneyand ed. “From myperspective,I’drather of themissionswehave,”Elachiadd the intellectualdiversityandrichness ter availabilityandsea-levelrise. and ecosystems,naturalhazards, wa societal benefitfocusareas: carbon science program isfocusingonfour society, hesaid.To thatend,theEarth expertise today-to-daychallenges”of not purely aboutscience,heElachi. “We haveavery intellectuallyrich Both theHouseandSenatepledged Elachi wasalsoencouragedby “So themessageis:Keepdoing JPL getsitsexcitingportfoliothe “Its notjustthedollarnumber, it’s “It’s alsoimportanttoapplyJPL’s n ------

Universe 2 one of the ice geysersnearitssouth pole. Enceladus, flyingthrough theplumefrom kilometers ofSaturn’s pearl-colored moon when thespacecraftswoopedwithin50 another dayattheoffice. Cassini navigationteamwouldconsiderit the past18years,you’dthinkthat anditsmoons over counters withSaturn where this other bodyisaswell,”said the spacecraftis—youneed toknow it’s notgoodenoughtojustknowwhere “When you’re goingtodoacloseflyby, Cassini’s radiosignal. basis withtrackingtechniquesbasedon the spacecraft’s position on a near-daily of thesolarwind,saidRoth.Theycheck more subtleforces suchasthepressure and eventslikethrusterfirings,butalso forces onthespacecraft—not onlygravity model takingintoaccountallsignificant wherelearned Enceladusactuallywas. their confidence. In practical terms, they nian moonsstudied—didmore thanbuild Enceladus—as wellasalltheotherSatur were obtainedforanalysis,henoted. Several hundred particlesoftheplume eter and dust analyzer worked perfectly.” pling oftheplumebymassspectrom we setouttodo,”headded.“Thesam Maize. gators are pleasedwiththeresults,” said were spoton,andtheinstrumentinvesti the scienceandengineeringinstruments few hundred metersofthetarget. Both Project ManagerEarlMaize. flyby went“absolutelyperfectly,” said back pocket. Duane Rothhadlotsofexperienceinits ladus, sothenavigationteamledby the spacecraft’s 21stcloseflybyofEnce Close shaveoverSaturnmoon Cassini comeswithin30milesofEnceladus Last week’s exceptionalpassmarked But there were stillbreaths heldOct.28 After dozens ofpinpoint-accuracy en But that’s onlypartoftheequation. The navigationteamusesacomplex Roth saidtheteam’s experiencewith “We were abletoaccomplish everything “The navigationteamgotuswithina Their confidencepaidoff, asCassini’s ------different comesup.“Onthisflyby, weper Roth. of veteransandneweremployees,said full-time equivalentstaff, withagoodmix could doit.” we mightbeflyingtooclose;knew said Roth. “We never had to worrythat dus’ knownorbittoabout2kilometers, just aboutontarget, pinpointingEncela dreds ofkilometersuncertainty.” moons wasenormous.Theyhadhun theuncertaintyof around Saturn, Roth. “PriortoCassinigoingintoorbit craft wide-anglecamera onOct. 28. view atadistanceofabout77milesfrom thesurface. The imagewastakeninvisiblelightwiththeCassini space During itsclosest-everdivepasttheactive southpolarregionofSaturn’s moon Enceladus, Cassiniacquired this With almost every maneuver, something The navigationteamincludesabout12 For theOct.28flyby, navigatorswere By Mark Whalen - - - finally see Saturn—up close.” finally seeSaturn—up ager’s Uranus andNeptuneflybys. then,” hesaid.“ButIwashere forVoy flyby, ofallthings,soImissedSaturn mission. “Theyhired meaftertheirSaturn and beganworkingontheiconicVoyager Michigan. Aftergraduation,hejoinedJPL studied engineeringattheUniversityof erything isroutine.” We’ve not gotten to the place where ev but more than300havebeenexecuted. said Roth.“We havecanceledmany, formed orbittrimmaneuvernumber427,” “So nowIgetachancewithCassinito A spacefansincechildhood,Roth n - - -

Universe 3 New optionsfor2016 benefits two-day events. three days,requiring onlineticketsortwo future includeextendingOpenHouseto to come.” JPL willonlycontinuetogrow intheyears public’s fascination andappreciation of thanks toallofyou.Ibelievethatthe who workedatOpenHouse—mysincere in nosmallpartduetotheeffort ofthose communications andeducation.“Thisis said BlaineBaggett,JPL’s director for away happyandenthusiasticaboutJPL,” I ampleasedthatsomanyvisitorswent many challengesforustoovercome, but at capacity. control byalertingdriversthatJPLwas social mediateamhelpedwithtraffic were filledbymid-morning. lar tolastyear’s event,butparkinglots the Laboverweekend,anumbersimi away.attend thatsomehadtobeturned 10. Asamatteroffact,somanywantedto from JPL’s annualOpenHouseOct.9and keep curiousmembersofthepublicaway Record crowdsforopenhouse by two PPO plans that feature the ability to Anthem HMOandKaiser are joined documents/63-oeeventsschedule.pdf available athttp://benefits.caltech.edu/ and webinarstoexplaintheplansare High DeductiblePPOPlan(HDHP). some newoptions,includingaredesigned efits, andemployeescanchooseamong Alternatives beingconsideredAlternatives forthe “This unprecedented interest created Through Twitter andFacebook,JPL’s About 45,000peoplewere abletoenter Temperatures inthehigh90sdidn’t Four healthcare programs are offered. Several open-enrollment workshops Enrollment isunderwayfor 2016ben n - -

Robotics engineerMattHeverlydisplaysawheelfromtheCuriosityrover. The employeecostfortheAnthem HDHP encourage employeestoconsider it.” Moffitt, JPL’s benefits manager, “andwe mum amounts. the deductibleandout-of-pocketmaxi 2015, but to do so required an increase in tion amountascompared to theratesfor lower themonthlyemployeecontribu pick yourowndoctors. “This planisgaininginterest,” saidLucy The AnthemHDHPwasredesigned to - - very similar,” shesaid.“Thisoptioncould HMO andthehigh-deductible planare year they’llseethatthecosts forAnthem PPO,” addedMoffitt. the sameasnetworkfororiginal doctors andhospitalsfortheHDHPis important tonotethatthenetworkof now inlinewithAnthemHMOrates.“It’s is decreasing for2016and thecostis “When employeesseetherates fornext Continued onpage5

Universe 4 B N rie ews f s scientist forJPL’s Mars Geology honortoGolombek Aquarium ofthePacific inLongBeach. ment. plary leadershipinenergy andcarbonmanage Climate Registry, this award recognizes exem large businesscategory. Planet Award recipient intheaerospace sector/ tion, JPLhasbeenselectedasa2015Cool kudos toJPL Energy conservation leans. banquet tobeheldinJanuary2016NewOr American Meteorological Societyannualawards tribution tosealevelchange,”thesocietysaid. ocean and their con heat contentofthe ing thecirculation and research indetermin honor “forcreative Fofonoff Award. Society’s NicholasP. can Meteorological selected fortheAmeri Josh Willishasbeen Meteorological problems ofplanetarygeology. contributions tothesolutionoffundamental ing geologicproblems, recognizes outstanding importance ofaplanetaryperspectiveinsolv an influentialAmericangeologistwhosawthe lander andMars2020rover. Lander, andfortheupcoming2016InSight Mars rover mission,forthe2008PhoenixMars in evaluatingandselectingsitesforeveryNASA Pathfinder Project, Golombekhasbeenaleader honor. 1 to4inBaltimore. HeisthefirstJPLerwith honor duringthesociety’s annualmeetingNov. logical SocietyofAmerica. ology DivisionoftheGeo award ofthePlanetaryGe nered theG.K.Gilbert ration Program, hasgar for NASA’s Mars Explo and landingsitescientist Exploration Rover project Matt Golombek,project The award wasbestowedOct.16atthe Edisonandthe California Hosted bySouthern For itssuccessfulefforts inenergy conserva The formalpresentation willbemadeatthe Willis received the JPL oceanographer The award, namedforGrove KarlGilbert, The project scientistforJPL’s 1997Mars Golombek received the n awardtohonor Willis - - - Josh Willis - - - - Matt Golombek n n - - - - - of theirhealth—theJPLFitbitchallenge. chance to takemore personal control ers, JPLisoffering employeesafun stable withverylittlechange. cantly for2016,”notedMoffitt. per employeehaveincreased signifi shrunk somuchthattheallocatedcosts it proved prohibitive. “Thegroup has are enrolled, andthecoststomaintain end. Only about175 JPL employees enrolled, andwillterminateatyear’s able next year only to those currently ible plananinteresting alternative.” others, butmightfindthehigh-deduct need tousehealthservicesasmuch attract peoplewhodon’t necessarily BENEFITS efits isFriday, Nov. 13. ployee’s office. device, whichwillbemailed to theem the healthassessmenttoreceive the take about45daysaftersubmitting by visiting goto/fitbitchallenge. It will lenge andreceive more information tions,” shesaid. they answered theassessment ques that isrelevant tothembased onhow will pushinformationtotheemployee JPL, Moffitt noted.“Anthem andKaiser ser orWalking Works isnotshared with ity goalsandmonitortheirsuccess.” will helpemployeessetindividualactiv able toKaisermembers.Theprogram sponsored byAnthembutisalsoavail sign upfor‘Walking Works,’ whichis assessment withAnthemorKaiserand to employeeswhocompleteahealth said Moffitt. “We’re distributingthem people monitor their activity levels,” personal metrics. of steps walked or climbed, and other for measuringdatasuchasthenumber Fitbits are smallactivitytrackersused In additiontothehealthcare provid Moffitt saidKaiserrateswouldremain The previous PPOplanwillbeavail The deadlinetoenroll for2016ben Employees cansignupforthechal Information collectedbyAnthem,Kai “Fitbits are areally goodtooltohelp Continued from page4 n ------

Universe 5 Pasadena, CA91109. 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Education Directorate ofthe the Communicationsand Universe ispublishedby CLASSIFIED ADSAT JPL’S ONLINE NEWSSOURCE Mark Whalen Editor universe@jpl.nasa.gov READ ANDSUBMIT E-MAIL USAT http://jplspace

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