NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory

“Every time we spot a dust devil, it helps us refine our climate models of Mars.” The Perseverance rover recently captured video of dust devils, a phenomenon that has been observed by multiple Mars missions since the 1970s. Atmospheric scientist Priya Patel explains what dust devils can teach us about weather on the Red Planet.

What’s Up for April, skywatchers? The Lyrid meteor shower will peak overnight on the evening of April 21, there will be planets at dusk and dawn throughout the month, and learn how to observe a distant globular cluster known as M3 with binoculars or a telescope. More skywatching tips: go.nasa.gov/whatsup

After spending time inside NASA’s Johnson Space Center's historic Chamber A for environmental tests, we're excited to welcome NEO Surveyor's instrument enclosure back to JPL for the next portion of its assembly! More on the work that will take place over the coming weeks: go.nasa.gov/3XZyZAP Ever wonder what spacecraft assembly looks like? Now you can watch as NEO Surveyor (and its "roomie" ASTHROS) come together in our clean room with a 24/7 live cam: https://lnkd.in/gvjNzfNi

Inspiring the next generation of problem solvers 💡 For many students, the FIRST Robotics competition is more than just a game – it’s a chance to learn directly from STEM professionals. Engineers and scientists worked alongside high school students as they competed in this year's intense, ocean-themed robotics challenge. For the LA regional competition, JPL has coordinated volunteers – and provided coaching and mentoring to teams, judges, and other competition support – for 25 years. go.nasa.gov/4iQBkps

The deadline is approaching to apply for NASA’s 37th annual Planetary Science Summer School program, a three-month-long career development program for doctoral students, recent Ph.D.s, postdocs, and junior faculty who have a strong interest in science-driven robotic space exploration missions.   Participants learn the process of developing a hypothesis-driven robotic space mission in a concurrent engineering environment while getting an in-depth, first-hand look at mission design, life cycle, costs, schedule and the trade-offs inherent in each.   View details and eligibility requirements, and submit your application by March 18: https://lnkd.in/eRiabxGC

Happy Pi Day! Pi is a never-ending mathematical constant that many NASA and JPL engineers and scientists use when making calculations… but how many digits do they really need? An engineer explains the answer: go.nasa.gov/3Dm57aJ

In case you missed it: On Tuesday, NASA’s next cosmic mapmaker – SPHEREx – launched to begin its quest to help scientists better understand the structure of the universe, how galaxies form and evolve, and the origins and abundance of water and other key ingredients for life in our galaxy. Here are some highlights from launch 🚀

NASA’s newest astrophysics observatory is on its way to study the origins of our universe and the history of galaxies and to search for the ingredients of life in our galaxy. 🚀 SPHEREx lifted off at 8:10 p.m. PDT on March 11 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Teams have received full acquisition of signal from the observatory, indicating that the spacecraft is functioning nominally and is power positive. It will begin its two-year prime mission after a roughly one-month checkout period, during which engineers and scientists will make sure the spacecraft is working properly. 🔗 https://lnkd.in/gniNJE_i  

Two NASA science missions – SPHEREx and PUNCH – will soon begin their journeys of discovery. The JPL-managed SPHEREx mission will survey the sky in optical and infrared light, gathering data on more than 450 million galaxies, and 100 million stars in our own galaxy. Launch is set for Saturday, March 8, at 7:10pm PT / 10:10pm ET: https://lnkd.in/gdjhwX4C

Planning to attend next week's Lunar and Planetary Science Conference in The Woodlands, Texas? JPL scientists will be there presenting multiple oral talks and papers related to the planet Uranus. These presentations and others will help JPL and the community plan for the Uranus Orbiter and Probe mission, the highest priority new Flagship in the Planetary and Astrobiology Decadal Survey from 2023.   • Tuesday, March 11: Two paper presentations about the moons of Uranus, 4:40pm and 4:50pm (Details: https://lnkd.in/gtKiCvie)   • Thursday, March 13: Five presentations led by JPL scientists on the planet's origin, interior and magnetosphere, 2:15-3:45pm (Details: https://lnkd.in/gUQE6rJK), plus two additional papers on the moon of Uranus that will be presented in the poster session on Thursday evening   We hope to see you there!