About the Field Trip!

We visited the Jet Propulsion Laboratory as part of AbGradCon '12. The time period 2011-2012 is one of the most active periods for exploration of planets by robotic spacecraft, with a number of mission milestones and successes. With the success of the MSL rover and the close of NASA’s Year of the Solar System culminating in 2012, this was a uniquely active time to visit JPL. The field trip to JPL included tours of the Mars yard, the Balloon development laboratories working on concepts for Titan, Venus and Mars missions, and Mission Control, as well as tours of the two NAI nodes at JPL focused on Icy Moons and Titan.