Five years ago today, the Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER) spacecraft entered Mercury’s orbit. It unlocked many of the planet’s mysteries, including finding strong evidence of water ice at the poles. Johns Hopkins APL built and operated the spacecraft for NASA. MESSENGER impacted the planet’s surface, as expected, on April 30, 2015.

APL’s Corrosion Resistant Aerial Covert Unmanned Nautical System — or CRACUNS — is a submersible UAV that can be launched from a fixed position underwater, or from an unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV). A team from APL’s Force Projection Sector worked with fabrication experts in the Research and Exploratory Development Department to create this new type of unmanned vehicle. #UAV #UUV #CRACUNS

A Colorado man made history at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory when he became the first bilateral shoulder-level amputee to wear and simultaneously control two of the Laboratory’s Modular Prosthetic Limbs. Most importantly, Les Baugh, who lost both arms in an electrical accident 40 years ago, was able to operate the system by simply thinking about moving his limbs, performing a variety of tasks during a short training period. #APLis74 #HBDAPL #Innovation

In 1967, the first color photo of Earth was taken by APL-built DODGE (Department of Defense Gravity Experiment) spacecraft.

The Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory’s robotics work dates back to 1958, when a study group on “adaptive machines” was created. A few years later, the group’s most famous projects were introduced to the world, drawing media attention for their innovative capabilities. Two self-sustaining robots, affectionately known as “Ferdinand” and the “Hopkins Beast,” we’re test beds for system autonomy. This picture shows APL’s John Chubbuck, robotics pioneer, with Ferdinand (left) and the Hopkins Beast (right) at APL in 1962. #APLis74 #HBDAPL #Innovation

This is a picture of the Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) headed to shoot down a U.S. spy satellite carrying 1,000 pounds of toxic hydrazine fuel that was headed to Earth. About 40 APL staff members from the Air and Missile Defense, Space, and National Security Analysis departments worked with industry partners and other defense laboratories to design a plan to shoot down the 17,000 mph moving satellite. The team made military history when it successfully shot down the satellite, obliterating its fuel tank into pieces no larger than a football, within a remarkably short time frame. #APLis74 #HBDAPL #Innovation

NASA’s Juno spacecraft, set to arrive at Jupiter on July 4, 2016, carries three Johns Hopkins APL-built Jupiter Energetic Particle Detector Instrument (JEDI) units, one of which is shown here. JEDI will measure charged particles accelerated to high energies within Jupiter’s magnetosphere, allowing researchers to study how their interaction with Jupiter’s atmosphere generates the most powerful aurora in the solar system. #Jupiter #NASAJuno #APLJEDI #July4th

APL’s Tom Krimigis (center) receives the NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal from Associate Administrator Robert Lightfoot (left) and Administrator Charlie Bolden (right) during a ceremony at NASA Ames Research Center on June 28.