AROUND HOME : Jet Propulsion Laboratory Tours

AN ARM OF NASA, the JPL facility in La Canada Flintridge, is responsible for designing robot spacecraft to explore our solar system, tracking them in deep space and for advanced research in the physical sciences. Although the very popular school tours of JPL are booked through the end of the school year, there is still a way for kids to see Voyager’s birthplace.

Twice a month, JPL hosts Visitor Day tours that are open to individuals and family groups (children must be at least 10 years old). The tour concentrates on the deep-space aspects of JPL’s work and updates visitors on the latest information from our space probes, including the veteran Voyager, now heading out of our solar system, the Galileo probe of Jupiter and the forthcoming Magellan probe of Venus.

The tour opens with a tri-screen video welcome to outer space and an explanation of the history and mission of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. One of the first stops is a full-scale engineering replica of the Voyager; there one has the chance to ask questions about its spectacular shots of Neptune and its moon, Triton. The tour also includes a visit to the spaceflight operations facility, Mission Control for a number of our current deep-space missions and the nerve center of the deep-space network. One of the highlights of the tour is the spacecraft-assembly facility, a dust and dirt-free Class 100 “clean room.” Here, workers in Buck Rogers attire (called “bunny suits” at JPL) assemble the information-gathering space probes that will be launched. Some completed craft could also be on display.

JPL tours are free, but because Visitor Day tours are held just twice a month, reservations usually need to be made at least four to six weeks in advance. JPL suggests wearing comfortable flat shoes, because there are many stairs on the tour. Cameras are permitted. At Jet Propulsion Laboratory, La Canada Flintridge, Oak Grove Drive exit from the 210 Freeway. The main gate of JPL is at the end of Oak Grove Drive; telephone (818) 354-8594.