Space Science and Engineering
From the Sun to Earth and beyond, Johns Hopkins APL is disrupting the future of space science and exploration
Since the dawn of the Space Age, Johns Hopkins APL has pushed the frontiers of space science, engineering, and exploration. We captured the first picture of Earth from space, invented navigation by satellite, and have dispatched spacecraft across the solar system from our Sun to Pluto and beyond, and we continue to shape the future by providing our nation with innovative and low-cost solutions to its space challenges.
We have designed and built more than 70 spacecraft and hundreds of specialized instruments. Combined, these spacecraft and instruments have visited every planet in our solar system and collected information that has expanded humankind's understanding of the universe.
Visit space.jhuapl.edu to learn more about APL’s work in space science and engineering.
Related Projects
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Cislunar Science and Technology
APL is making critical contributions to the development of cislunar infrastructure to ensure our nation’s security interests are protected, support development of a sustainable cislunar presence, and advance pioneering science. -
CubeSat Signal Preprocessor Assessment and Test (CAT)
APL has successfully established communications with two miniaturized satellites, or CubeSats, as part of a Lab-led flight demonstration known as CAT. -
Deep Space Advanced Radar Capability (DARC) Technology Demonstration
APL is leading solutions for the Space Force with the DARC technology demonstrator program. -
Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART)
NASA’s first planetary defense mission—the APL-led Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART)—is the first mission to demonstrate what’s known as the kinetic impactor technique, which involves striking an asteroid to shift its orbit and deflect it from Earth. -
Dragonfly
Dragonfly is a NASA New Frontiers mission that will send a rotorcraft lander to explore the prebiotic chemistry and habitability of Saturn’s largest moon, Titan. -
Electrojet Zeeman Imaging Explorer (EZIE)
EZIE will determine the structure and evolution of Earth’s electrojets — electric currents flowing in Earth’s ionosphere that are central to the electrical circuit that couples the planet’s magnetosphere to its atmosphere. -
Europa Clipper
The search for life in the solar system beyond Earth gets a boost when NASA’s Europa Clipper mission launches in the mid-2020s to explore under the icy crust of Jupiter’s moon Europa. -
Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP)
Set to launch in 2025, NASA’s Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP) mission will help researchers better understand what happens at the boundary of the heliosphere, where the Sun’s protective magnetic field ends. -
New Horizons
Not even four years after NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft left Pluto and its moons in the rearview mirror—and revolutionized humankind’s view of these small, dynamic worlds on the edge of our solar system—the APL-built and -operated probe conducted a flyby of an ancient Kuiper Belt object, named Arrokoth, on New Year’s Day 2019. -
Parker Solar Probe
NASA’s Parker Solar Probe—designed and built at APL—launched in August 2018 and has already traveled closer to the Sun than any spacecraft in history. -
Preventing Traffic Jams in Space
Providing greater situational awareness to enhance safety and security for those who plan to operate in cislunar space and on the Moon. -
Space Security and Defense
APL provides expertise to the Space Security and Defense program, a joint Department of Defense/Office of the Director of National Intelligence organization focused on creating a more resilient and enduring national security space capability. -
Space Weather
APL is a leader in space weather science, observations, and modeling—particularly in understanding the drivers of solar activity, the role Earth’s magnetosphere plays in protecting us, and the response of the upper atmosphere to solar variability. -
Space Weather Sensors
Knowing the distribution and direction of energetic charged particles along a spacecraft’s trajectory is key to situational and satellite-health awareness, yet many missions resist flying particle sensors because the instruments can be heavy and expensive. -
Spacebased Kill Assessment (SKA)
APL developed and tested the sensors for the Missile Defense Agency’s SKA system, currently on orbit and executing planned test events.
Related News
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News
Mar 28, 2024Johns Hopkins APL Space Scientist Paxton Wins International Distinguished Service Award
Larry Paxton, a space scientist at APL, has earned a 2024 International Astronautical Federation (IAF) Distinguished Service Award. -
Award
Mar 27, 2024Patrick Binning Earns University of Colorado Boulder Alumni Honor for Aerospace Contributions
Patrick Binning has received the University of Colorado Boulder’s Ann and H.J. Smead Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences award for excellence in public service. -
News
Mar 26, 2024Remembering Trailblazing Johns Hopkins APL Mathematician Ella Dobson
Ella Dobson, whose pioneering work in ocean remote sensing at APL spanned 36 years, left a profound impact on science, embodying the spirit of both Black History Month and Women’s History Month. Her legacy continues to inspire future generations in the STEM fields. -
News
Mar 21, 2024Johns Hopkins APL Researchers Take Additive Manufacturing to New Heights
Engineers and researchers at APL recently won two awards from The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society for their study on 3D-printing a space instrument to detect and source air pollution. The project marks a significant milestone in the 3D-printing industry because it relies on an end product to help build a framework for material selection, characterization and development. -
Press Release
Mar 18, 2024NASA Delivers Science Instrument to JAXA’s Martian Moons Mission
Built by Johns Hopkins APL in collaboration with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, the gamma-ray and neutron spectrometer instrument called MEGANE reached the Japanese spacecraft manufacturer last week for final testing and for integration with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s Martian Moons Explorer mission spacecraft, on which it will play a significant role in determining the origin of Mars’ moons Phobos and Deimos.