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By NASA
NASA JPL is readying for, clockwise from lower right, the launches of CADRE (its engineering models are seen here), Lunar Trailblazer, NISAR (seen in an artist’s concept), Sentinel-6B (artist’s concept), and SPHEREx, as well as the Mars gravity assist of Europa Clipper (artist’s concept).NASA/JPL-Caltech/BAE Systems/Lockheed Martin Space Missions will study everything from water on the Moon to the transformation of our universe after the big bang and ongoing changes to Earth’s surface.
With 2024 receding into the distance, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory is already deep into a busy 2025. Early in the new year, the Eaton Fire came close to JPL, destroying the homes of more than 200 employees, but work has continued apace to maintain mission operations and keep upcoming missions on track.
Several missions managed by NASA JPL are prepping for launch this year. Most have been years in the making and launches are, of course, only part of the bigger picture. Other milestones are also on the docket for the federal laboratory, which Caltech manages for NASA.
Here’s a glimpse of what lies ahead this year.
Mysterious Universe
Shaped like the bell of a trumpet and as big as a subcompact car, NASA’s SPHEREx space observatory is aiming for the stars. Known formally as the Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer, the mission will create four 3D maps of the entire sky in order to improve humanity’s understanding of the universe — how it expanded after the big bang, where ingredients of life can be found in ice grains, and much more. Target launch date: no earlier than Feb. 27 from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
The Moon’s Icy Secrets
NASA’s Lunar Trailblazer aims to help resolve an enduring mystery: Where is the Moon’s water? Scientists have seen signs suggesting it exists even where temperatures soar on the lunar surface, and there’s good reason to believe it can be found as surface ice in permanently shadowed craters, places that have not seen direct sunlight for billions of years. Managed by NASA JPL and led by Caltech, the small satellite will help provide answers, mapping the Moon’s surface water in unprecedented detail to determine the water’s abundance, location, form, and how it changes over time. The small satellite will hitch a ride, slated for late February, on the same launch as the Intuitive Machines-2 delivery to the Moon through NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative.
Earth’s Changing Surface
A collaboration between the United States and India, NISAR is a major addition to the fleet of satellites studying our changing planet. Short for NASA-Indian Space Research Organisation Synthetic Aperture Radar, the mission’s name is a nesting doll of acronyms, and the spacecraft is a nesting doll of capabilities: The first spacecraft to carry both L-band and S-band radars, it will see surface changes related to volcanoes, earthquakes, ice sheet motion, deforestation, and more in unprecedented detail after it launches in a few months’ time.
Sea Level
Targeting a November launch, Sentinel-6B will provide global sea surface height measurements — some of the most accurate data of its kind yet — that will improve climate models and hurricane tracking, as well as our understanding of phenomena like El Niño. A collaboration between NASA and ESA (European Space Agency), the spacecraft will take the baton from its twin, Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich, which launched in 2020. Together, the satellites are extending for another 10 years a nearly three-decade record of global sea surface height.
Moon Rover Trio
As a technology demonstration, the CADRE (Cooperative Autonomous Distributed Robotic Exploration) project marks another step NASA is taking toward developing robots that, by operating autonomously, can boost the efficiency of future missions. The project team at JPL will soon be packing up and shipping CADRE’s three suitcase-size rovers to Texas in preparation for their journey to the Moon aboard a commercial lander through one of NASA’s future CLPS deliveries. The rovers are designed to work together as a team without direct input from mission controllers back on Earth. And, by taking simultaneous measurements from multiple locations, they are meant to show how multirobot missions could enable new science and support astronauts.
Quantum Technology
Having arrived at the International Space Station in November, SEAQUE (Space Entanglement and Annealing QUantum Experiment) is testing two technologies that, if successful, could enable communication using entangled photons between two quantum systems. The research from this experiment, which gets underway in 2025, could help develop the building blocks for a future global quantum network that would allow equipment such as quantum computers to transfer data securely across large distances.
Gravity Assist to Reach Jupiter
Launched this past October, Europa Clipper will arrive at Jupiter in 2030 to investigate whether an ocean beneath the ice shell of the gas giant’s moon Europa has conditions suitable for life. The spacecraft will travel 1.8 billion miles (2.9 billion kilometers) to reach its destination. Since there are limitations on how much fuel the spacecraft can carry, mission planners are having Europa Clipper fly by Mars on March 1, using the planet’s gravity as a slingshot to add speed to its journey.
For more about NASA missions JPL supports, go to:
https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/
Meet SPHEREx, NASA’s newest cosmic mapper How NISAR will track Earth’s changing surface CADRE’s mini-rovers will team up to explore the Moon Instruments deployed, Europa Clipper is Mars-bound News Media Contact
Matthew Segal
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
818-354-8307
matthew.j.segal@jpl.nasa.gov
2025-008
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Last Updated Jan 23, 2025 Related Terms
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By Space Force
NMM introduces the Total Force to a series of panels, events and interactive discussions on mentoring as an enterprise imperative, ensuring greater awareness of the mentoring opportunities available to all Airman and Guardians.
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By NASA
On Jan. 19, 1965, Gemini 2 successfully completed the second of two uncrewed test flights of the spacecraft and its Titan II booster, clearing the way for the first crewed mission. The 18-minute suborbital mission achieved the primary goals of flight qualifying the Gemini spacecraft, especially its heat shield during a stressful reentry. Recovery forces retrieved the capsule following its splashdown, allowing engineers to evaluate how its systems fared during the flight. The success of Gemini 2 enabled the first crewed mission to fly two months later, beginning a series of 10 flights over the following 20 months. The astronauts who flew these missions demonstrated the rendezvous and docking techniques necessary to implement the Lunar Orbit Rendezvous method NASA chose for the Moon landing mission. They also proved that astronauts could work outside their spacecraft during spacewalks and that spacecraft and astronauts could function for at least eight days, the minimum time for a roundtrip lunar mission. The Gemini program proved critical to fulfill President John F. Kennedy’s goal of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to Earth before the end of the 1960s.
Cutaway diagram of the Gemini spacecraft. Workers at Launch Pad 19 lift Gemini 2 to mate it with its Titan II rocket. At Pad 19, engineers verify the flight simulators inside Gemini 2. Following the success of Gemini 1 in April 1964, NASA had hoped to fly the second mission before the end of the year and the first crewed mission by January 1965. The two stages of the Titan II rocket arrived at Cape Kennedy from the Martin Marietta factory in Baltimore on July 11, and workers erected it on Launch Pad 19 five days later. A lightning strike at the pad on Aug. 17 invalidated all previous testing and required replacement of some pad equipment. A series of three hurricanes in August and September forced workers to partially or totally unstack the vehicle before stacking it for the final time on Sept. 14. The Gemini 2 spacecraft arrived at Cape Kennedy from its builder, the McDonnell Company in St. Louis, on Sept. 21, and workers hoisted it to the top of the Titan II on Oct. 18. Technical issues delayed the spacecraft’s physical mating to the rocket until Nov. 5. These accumulated delays pushed the launch date back to Dec. 9.
The launch abort on Dec. 9, 1964. Liftoff of Gemini 2 from Launch Pad 19 on Jan. 19, 1965. Engineers in the blockhouse monitor the progress of the Titan II during the ascent. Fueling of the rocket began late on Dec. 8, and following three brief holds in the countdown, the Titan’s two first stage engines ignited at 11:41 a.m. EST on Dec. 9. and promptly shut down one second later. Engineers later determined that a cracked valve resulted in loss of hydraulic pressure, causing the malfunction detection system to switch to its backup mode, forcing a shutdown of the engines. Repairs meant a delay into the new year. On Jan. 19, 1965, following a mostly smooth countdown, Gemini 2 lifted off from Pad 19 at 9:04 a.m. EST.
The Mission Control Center (MCC) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. In the MCC, astronauts Eugene Cernan, left, Walter Schirra, Gordon Cooper, Donald “Deke” Slayton, and Virgil “Gus” Grissom monitor the Gemini 2 flight. In the Gemini Mission Control Center at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Flight Director Christopher C. Kraft led a team of flight controllers that monitored all aspects of the flight. At the Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC), now NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, a team of controllers led by Flight Director John Hodge passively monitored the flight from the newly built Mission Control Center. They would act as observers for this flight and Gemini 3, the first crewed mission, before taking over full control with Gemini IV, and control all subsequent American human spaceflights. The Titan rocket’s two stages placed Gemini 2 into a suborbital trajectory, reaching a maximum altitude of 98.9 miles, with the vehicle attaining a maximum velocity of 16,709 miles per hour. Within a minute after separating from the Titan’s second stage, Gemini 2 executed a maneuver to orient its heat shield in the direction of flight to prepare for reentry. Flight simulators installed where the astronauts normally would sit controlled the maneuvers. About seven minutes after liftoff, Gemini 2 jettisoned its equipment section, followed by firing of the retrorockets, and then separation of the retrorocket section, exposing the spacecraft’s heat shield.
View from a camera mounted on a cockpit window during Gemini 2’s reentry. View from the cockpit window during Gemini 2’s descent on its parachute. Gemini 2 then began its reentry, the heat shield protecting the spacecraft from the 2,000-degree heat generated by friction with the Earth’s upper atmosphere. A pilot parachute pulled away the rendezvous and recovery section. At 10,000 feet, the main parachute deployed, and Gemini 2 descended to a splashdown 2,127 miles from its launch pad, after a flight of 18 minutes 16 seconds. The splashdown took place in the Atlantic Ocean about 800 miles east of San Juan, Puerto Rico, and 25 miles from the prime recovery ship, the U.S.S. Lake Champlain (CVS-39).
A U.S. Navy helicopter hovers over the Gemini 2 capsule following its splashdown as a diver jumps into the water. Sailors hoist Gemini 2 aboard the U.S.S. Lake Champlain. U.S. Navy helicopters delivered divers to the splashdown area, who installed a flotation collar around the spacecraft. The Lake Champlain pulled alongside, and sailors hoisted the capsule onto the carrier, securing it on deck one hour forty minutes after liftoff. The spacecraft appeared to be in good condition and arrived back at Cape Kennedy on Jan. 22 for a thorough inspection. As an added bonus, sailors recovered the rendezvous and recovery section. Astronaut Virgil “Gus” Grissom, whom along with John Young NASA had selected to fly the first crewed Gemini mission, said after the splashdown, “We now see the road clear to our flight, and we’re looking forward to it.” Flight Director Kraft called it “very successful.” Gemini Program Manager Charles Matthews predicted the first crewed mission could occur within three months. Gemini 3 actually launched on March 23.
Enjoy this NASA video of the Gemini 2 mission.
Postscript
The Gemini-B capsule and a Manned Orbiting Laboratory (MOL) mockup atop a Titan-IIIC rocket in 1966. The flown Gemini-B capsule on display at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Museum in Florida. Former MOL and NASA astronaut Robert Crippen stands beside the only flown Gemini-B capsule – note the hatch in the heat shield at top. Gemini 2 not only cleared the way for the first crewed Gemini mission and the rest of the program, it also took on a second life as a test vehicle for the U.S. Air Force’s Manned Orbiting Laboratory (MOL). The Air Force modified the spacecraft, including cutting a hatch through its heat shield, renamed it Gemini-B, and launched it on Nov. 3, 1966, atop a Titan IIIC rocket. The test flight successfully demonstrated the hatch in the heat shield design during the capsule’s reentry after a 33-minute suborbital flight. Recovery forces retrieved the Gemini-B capsule in the South Atlantic Ocean and returned it to the Air Force for postflight inspection. This marked the only repeat flight of an American spacecraft intended for human spaceflight until the advent of the space shuttle. Visitors can view Gemini 2/Gemini-B on display at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Museum.
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By NASA
NASA has selected David Korth as deputy for Johnson Space Center’s Safety and Mission Assurance directorate. Korth previously served as deputy manager of the International Space Station Avionics and Software Office at Johnson Space Center prior to serving as acting deputy for Safety and Mission Assurance.
I’m excited to embark on my new role as deputy for Johnson’s Safety and Mission Assurance directorate,” Korth said. “Safety has been a priority for me throughout my NASA career. It is at the forefront of every decision I make.”
Korth brings more than 34 years’ experience to NASA human space flight programs. Prior to supporting the space station Avionics and Software Office, Mr. Korth served as deputy manager of the program’s Systems Engineering and Integration Office where he also led the agency Commercial Destination program’s procurement culminating in the selection of Axiom Space.
Mr. Korth began his NASA career as an engineer in the space station program’s operations planning group where he helped develop initial operational concepts and planning system requirements for the orbiting laboratory. He converted to civil servant in 1998 and was among the first three individuals to achieve front room certification as a space station ‘OPS PLAN’ front room operator. Korth also served as the lead operations planner for Expedition 1 – the first space station crewed expedition, was awarded two NASA fellowships, served as the operations division technical assistant in the Mission Operations Directorate, and was selected as a flight director in May 2007and served as lead space station flight director for Expeditions 21, 22, and 37, lead flight director for Japanese cargo ship mission HTV3, and lead flight director for US EVAs 22, 23,and 27.
“David did an excellent job supporting Johnson’s many programs and institutional safety needs while serving as acting deputy manager,” said Willie Lyles, director of the Safety and Mission Assurance directorate. “He successfully weighed in on several critical risk-based decisions with the technical authority community. David’s program and flight operations experience is unique and is an asset to this role.”
Throughout his career, Korth has been recognized for outstanding technical achievements and leadership, receiving a Rotary National Award for Space Achievement, a Silver Snoopy award, two Superior Achievement awards, two NASA Outstanding Leadership medals, and a NASA Exceptional Achievement medal.
“David is an outstanding leader and engineer who truly understands NASA’s safety environment and protocols,” said Vanessa Wyche, director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center. “His leadership will ensure the center continues its ‘safety first’ ideology. I am extremely pleased to announce his selection for this position.”
Mr. Korth earned his bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering from Texas A&M University, and a master’s degree in statistics from the University of Houston-Clear Lake.
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Space Launch Delta 45 supported the maiden flight for Blue Origin’s New Glenn from Space Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
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