Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Capture an asteroid? Piece of cake

2013-05-24 13:07:00

“What could go wrong?” If you’re a woman, you’ve undoubtedly heard this phrase -- probably more than once -- from your father/grandfather/husband/boyfriend/male friends, shortly before the aforementioned types did something...

Asteroid capture: NASA plans to drag space rock into lunar orbit

2013-05-24 06:01:00

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden dropped by JPL on Thursday to outline the agency's plans to capture an asteroid, and to look at a model of a powerful new ion thruster that has enough strength to drag a space rock into orbit around the moon. NASA...

Boy Scouts lift ban on openly gay youth

2013-05-23 06:54:00

GRAPEVINE, Texas — In an emotionally charged vote Thursday, the Boy Scouts of America lifted its ban on gay youth starting in January next year, the latest sign of a shift in American attitudes toward gays and lesbians. After months of debate in...

Dark, massive asteroid to fly by Earth on May 31

2013-05-17 07:00:00

It's 1.7 miles long. Its surface is covered in a sooty black substance similar to the gunk at the bottom of a barbecue. If it impacted Earth it would probably result in global extinction. Good thing it is just making a flyby. Asteroid 1998 QE2 will make...

JPL to appeal NLRB order rescinding discipline of 5 employees

2013-05-14 18:40:00

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory on Tuesday said it planned to appeal a National Labor Relations Board judge's order to rescind disciplinary actions against five engineers and scientists. "Caltech respectfully disagrees with the decision and intends...

An administrative law judge ruled that JPL unfairly disciplined scientists over emails sent at work

2013-05-13 16:41:00

A National Labor Relations Board judge has ordered NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Ca�ada Flintridge to rescind disciplinary actions against five scientists who shared emails at work about a Supreme Court decision on background security...

Satellite images show 'double jeopardy' wildfire danger

2013-05-13 13:40:00

When it comes to Southern California’s increasingly perilous fire season, you can blame it on the rain. That’s the paradoxical case made by satellite data from NASA and India. Scientists at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and at...

Mars Curiosity rover's next drill target a bumpier challenge

2013-05-10 18:50:00

After a four-week spring break, NASA’s Mars Curiosity rover has set its sights on the next drill target: Cumberland, a rock lying about 9 feet away from where the rover first broke ground in Yellowknife Bay. The new target will be a greater...

JPL: NASA Curiosity rover back to work after Martian spring break

2013-05-08 07:15:00

NASA's Mars rover Curiosity has emerged from its "spring break" and is back to work, officials at Jet Propulsion Laboratory said this week. Up next on the agenda: Drilling the second target at Yellowknife Bay. The Mars Science Laboratory mission made...

Springs fire expected to be fully controlled by Tuesday afternoon

2013-05-07 07:26:00

The Springs fire in Ventura County was 90% contained Tuesday morning and was expected to be completely under control by the end of the day, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. The blaze damaged 15 homes but did not...

'May miracle' of above-average rainfall is a gift to firefighters

2013-05-07 00:00:00

A "May miracle" of almost perfectly timed, above-average rainfall helped firefighters battling the large Springs fire in Ventura County and guaranteed that Los Angeles would not break a dubious record. The city was on track to having its fourth-driest...

'May miracle' rain gives Southern California some relief

2013-05-06 12:23:00

A “May miracle” of almost perfectly timed, above average rainfall helped firefighters battling the large Springs fire in Ventura County, and guaranteed that Los Angeles would not break a dubious record. The city was on track to having its...

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, right, talks with electric propulsion engineer John Brophy during a visit to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

2013-05-23 21:59:00

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden talks with JPL's Electric Propulsion Engineer John Brophy about the Asteroid Initiative and how the ion thruster functions during a press conference at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena on Thursday, May 23, 2013.

2013-05-23 21:34:00

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden talks with JPL's Electric Propulsion Engineer John Brophy about how the Ion thruster accelerator functions during a press conference at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena on Thursday, May 23, 2013.

2013-05-23 00:00:00