Exploring Worlds Near and Far

Johns Hopkins APL is advancing planetary science and astrobiology through bold missions, innovative technologies, and world-class research. From developing instruments to study planetary atmospheres and surfaces to leading deep-space missions that explore the solar system’s most extreme environments, APL plays a central role in expanding our understanding of planetary bodies and their evolution. Our current work includes serving as the lead institution for NASA’s Dragonfly mission—a nuclear-powered dual quadcopter that will fly across Saturn’s ocean-bearing moon Titan in search of the chemical building blocks of life. This mission complements our broader astrobiology efforts, which focus on simulating extreme planetary environments, advancing our understanding of habitability, and characterizing extrasolar habitable worlds. From Mercury to the Kuiper Belt and beyond, APL remains at the forefront of discovery.

Expertise in Action

APL operates state-of-the-art facilities for simulating the environmental conditions of various worlds, including the Titan Chamber—the Lab’s largest environmental simulator and the only one of its kind in the world that mimics the frigid temperatures of Titan to test Dragonfly spacecraft systems.

They are leaders in the development of planetary particle and plasma investigations, conducting studies of Jupiter’s powerful aurora and Pluto’s dynamic atmosphere. APL scientists and engineers built or contributed to the imager, spectrometer, and plasma instruments to study Jupiter’s potentially habitable moon Europa. And through leading, building, and operating NASA’s Dragonfly mission to study the molecular building blocks of life on Titan, APL is helping spearhead the exploration of ocean worlds to understand their chemistries and potential habitability.

Researchers in our Astrobiology Laboratory explore organisms capable of living in extreme environments, conduct DNA and RNA nanopore sequencing, perform prebiotic chemistry experiments, and understand biosignature stability. APL researchers are also shaping universal habitability standards, integrating ecological and astrobiological models to unify the study of habitability across disciplines. These efforts guide the search for life and deepen our understanding of what makes environments—from Earth to extrasolar planets—capable of supporting life.

The Planetary Exploration Research Laboratory (PERL) drives scientific innovation with infrared and multispectral imagers and spectrometers, supporting planetary exploration with detailed mineral studies.

Our scientists and engineers have pioneered the robotic exploration of the solar system, leading the NEAR mission that captured the first close-up images of an asteroid, the MESSENGER mission that first mapped all of Mercury, and the New Horizons mission that captured the first images of Pluto’s icy heart. They provided a spectrometer to find ancient wet Martian environments and are building others to decipher the origins of Mars’ moon Phobos and the metal-rich asteroid 16 Psyche.

APL is also host to the Consortium on Habitability and Atmospheres of M-Dwarf Planets (CHAMPS), an interdisciplinary astrobiology research group that’s part of NASA’s Interdisciplinary Consortia for Astrobiology Research. CHAMPS is tasked with observing and understanding planets orbiting M-dwarf stars to ascertain if these planetary bodies are capable of supporting life. Our researchers have been awarded hundreds of hours of observation time with the James Webb Space Telescope to constrain the presence and composition of atmospheres on nearby rocky, M-dwarf planets.

Featured Science Snapshots

Missions

Instruments

Initiatives

While APL may be known for engaging in space-firsts and building first-of-its-kind spacecraft that deflect asteroids or touch the Sun, it also has a deep knowledge base of science and engineering experts who provide critical contributions to critical challenges. Through initiatives like Planetary Defense, Heliophysics and Space Weather, and Cislunar Operations, APL is able to deliver game-changing impacts for civil and national security.

Meet Our Experts

For media inquiries, please contact the APL Public Affairs office.

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