2018: a Look Ahead

JANUARY Jet Propulsion 2018 Laboratory VOLUME 48

NUMBER 1 2018: A look ahead From tremors on Mars to ripples on Earth, JPL spacecraft set to launch this year promise to alter and deepen our understanding of planetary processes.

By Carl Marziali

JPL’s gaze will turn inward this year with missions to reveal the bones and sinews of rocky planets. Launching in May, the InSight probe is scheduled to mark Thanksgiving on Mar- tian soil, latching onto the scrabbly crust and drilling 15 feet below. The mission is billed as a quest to study the planet’s vital signs, and InSight’s instruments make up the first planetary doctor’s bag. The first seismometer in more than 40 years to leave Earth’s orbit will act as a Martian stethoscope, lis- tening for faint motions in the core and InSight mantle, for the aural signature of meteor- ite impacts, and for any tremors that may develop even in the absence of tectonic plates. InSight also will deploy a heat flow probe that will hammer five meters (about 15 feet) below the ground to try to map the planet’s heat flow and thermal history. A third instrument will track the wobble of the planet as the lander communicates with Earth, helping to determine the mass and density distribution within Mars. Also launching this spring, GRACE-FO (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experi- ment Follow-On) succeeds the original GRACE, which over 15 years proved that Continued on page 2 GRACE-FO lection. more precise navigationanddatacol today’s bestnavigationclocks, enabling clock willbe50timesmore accuratethan extremely stableatomictimekeeper, the technology demonstrationof asmalland will launchsometimeinmid-2018.A track, JPL’s instrument fortheAirForce. cipitation rateandseaice.JPLbuiltthe as watervapor, cloudliquidwater, pre and direction. aswellparameters such cost measurements ofocean windspeed diometer the scheduled tolaunchinJune. ometer ExperimentonSpaceStation,is ThermalRadi ECOsystem Spaceborne pores. ECOSTRESS,formallynamedthe to therespiration ofleavesthrough their monitoring thelossofwaterattributable instrument willbesensitivetothepointof of heatradiatingfrom Earth’s surface.The the temperature ofplantsandtheamount thermometer, ECOSTRESSwillmeasure infrared radiometerthatworkslikeagiant its capillaries.Ahigh-resolution thermal veins andarteries, Earth’s life-sustainingcirculatory system. a uniqueandcomprehensive viewof precision ofitsmeasurements, providing ogy thatshoulddramaticallyimprove the ocean levelsaround theglobe. underground, large lakesandrivers, in icesheetsandglaciers,aquifersdeep GRACE succeededinmappingchanges sure thedistancebetweentwinsatellites, erence, andmicrowave rangingtomea global positioningsystemasafixedref tional pullonorbitingsatellites.Usingthe sured byminutechangesintheirgravita water movementsonEarthcanbemea A LOOKAHEAD And tokeepallthosespacecrafton as June, as early launch to Scheduled If theGRACEmissionmapsplanet’s GRACE-FO will deploy new technol Compact OceanWindVector Ra will provide accurate and low- Deep SpaceAtomicClock Continued from page1 ECOSTRESS Continued onpage5 tracks ------Compact Ocean Wind Vector Radiometer Ocean WindVector Compact ECOSTRESS Deep Space Atomic Clock

Universe 2 By Leslie Mullen ‘Line ofSight’pointstocosmicdestinations Network display inthelobbyofBuilding mission data, similar totheDeepSpace of JPL’s spacecraftandmissions.” would beliketohavesignspointing toall names,” shesays.“Iwondered whatit noticed thequirkystreet signswithfunny the “LineofSight”designproject. Studio, cameupwiththeconceptandled spacecraft andplanetpositions. ery 20secondsastheyreceive dataon display andpivottoanewdirection ev ets beyondoursolarsystem. such asJupiter, Marsandevenexoplan to far-off destinationsofspacemissions, wayfinders,” orienttravelersbypointing the MallDec.15. Her ideaincludedtheuseof real-time “I waswalkingaround the Laband Lois Kim,avisualstrategistwithThe The signs’LEDscreens change their The three rotating signs,called“galactic Signposts fortheskywere installedon - - ground with wiringandpipes. materials, build the signs, and prep the but ittookseveralmonthsto fabricate the They hadaprototype injustafewdays, to designthemotors,gearsand screens. look. sleek, modern She alsowantedthesignstohavea bright enough to be viewable in daylight. an LEDscreen thatwaswaterproof and ineverydirection,turn shehadtofind to work.” that needtogetpulledtogetherforthis ple, Irealized there are somanyaspects tors andengineersdata-codingpeo says. “OnceIstartedtalkingtocontrac engineering forthissimpleidea,”she the AdvancedDesignEngineeringGroup. and shared itwithhercolleaguesin312D, 180. She doodled a sketch on a napkin She workedwithateamofcontractors Beyond developingasignthatcould “I didn’t knowitwouldrequire somuch - - destinations are rightoverthere.” and thepublic inavisceralwaythatour of Sightreminds us,ourstakeholders, Dan Goods,wholeadsTheStudio. “Line abstract andmaybefeelless real,” says that wecan’t see,whichcanmakeit they’re doing.” could remind JPLersofthe great work space science. educate themaboutJPL’s missionsand imaginations ofvisitorstoJPL,andalso special events. to pointspecificplacesonLabduring locations. Thesignsevencouldbeused discovered exoplanetsornewmission updated, sothesignscanaddnewly- from aserverthatisconstantlybeing “So muchofJPL’s workisinplaces Another benefit,shenotes,is“thesigns She hopesthesignswillspark Kim saysthedataforsignscomes

Universe 3 Richard andSarahLay). buggy withaNASAJPLtheme(ownedby son) andanextreme performanceECO-1 GT500 (ownedbyDavidandChristineFargu chelle Roth),afullyrestored 1967Ford Shelby Muntz JetRoadster(ownedbyChrisandMi ment. Someoftheraritiesincludeda1952 said organizer MikeCarterofFleetManage owned byJPLemployeesandcontractors, hicles Dec.21. 1950s, displayedawidevarietyofclassicve a pre-holiday eventheldonLabsincetheearly 2017 ChevyCorvette,JPL’s annualcarshow, Car aficionados’holidaydelight All 44vehiclesattheeventwere privately Ranging from a105-year-old Overlandtoa

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Photo by Leslie Mullen

Photo by Leslie Mullen Photo courtesy of Mike Carter Photo courtesy of Mike Carter Universe 4 Pasadena, CA91109. 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Laboratory, Directorate oftheJet Propulsion Communications andEducation Universe ispublishedby the Dudley Lillam P lyn Chester, announced theirretirements: R disease. supports research intohiswife’s rare blood ulinemia Foundation( Waldenstrom’sthe International Macroglob that donationsinhisnamebeconsidered to ter Emily, andsonDaniel.Hisfamilyrequests a managerinSpecialProjects until2010. Mission Successforseveralyearsandthenas operations managerintheOffice ofSafetyand engineering andqualityassurance,servingas exhibited expertiseinimagescience,systems Air Force, retiring asacolonel.AtJPL,he the DefenseSupportProgram fortheU.S. career managingsatelliteprograms suchas Witold Sokolowski, December John Gieselman, January The following JPL employees recently Killam issurvivedbyhiswife,Jennifer, daugh Killam joinedJPLin2002aftera30-year JPLer DudleyKillamJr., 70,diedNov. 23. assings etirees Mark Whalen Editor universe@jpl.nasa.gov 12years,Section5020.

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