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 space (Credit: Johns Hopkins APL)]()
Learn more about Cislunar Science and TechnologyCislunar 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. -
![The twin CubeSat Assessment and Test, or CAT, satellites shown before launch at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory.]()
Learn more about CubeSat Signal Preprocessor Assessment and Test (CAT)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 Concept (DARC)]()
Learn more about Deep Space Advanced Radar Capability (DARC) Technology DemonstrationDeep Space Advanced Radar Capability (DARC) Technology Demonstration
APL is leading solutions for the Space Force with the DARC technology demonstrator program. -
![DART crashing into an asteroid]()
Learn more about Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART)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. -
![Artist's rendering of Dragonfly]()
Learn more about DragonflyDragonfly
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. -
![EZIE satellites]()
Learn more about Electrojet Zeeman Imaging Explorer (EZIE)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. -
![Artist's rendering of Europa Clipper]()
Learn more about Europa ClipperEuropa 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. -
![Artist's rendering of IMAP spacecraft]()
Learn more about Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP)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. -
![Artist's rendering of New Horizons]()
Learn more about New HorizonsNew 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. -
![Artist's rendering of Parker Solar Probe]()
Learn more about Parker Solar ProbeParker 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. -
![Johns Hopkins APL's 60-foot dish antenna illuminated at night]()
Learn more about Preventing Traffic Jams in SpacePreventing 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. -
![View from space of the Moon near Earth during a sunrise. (Credit: Shutterstock with NASA elements)]()
Learn more about Space Security and DefenseSpace 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]()
Learn more about Space WeatherSpace 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. -
![An image collage shows the various technologies and people, both on the ground and in space, susceptible to space weather. A coronal mass ejection and solar flare emerging from the Sun on the left illustrate some of the more extreme causes of space weather. (Credit: Johns Hopkins APL)]()
Learn more about Space Weather SensorsSpace 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. -
![SKA experiment sensor]()
Learn more about Spacebased Kill Assessment (SKA)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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![Artist’s impression of Dragonfly soaring over the dunes of Saturn’s moon Titan.]()
Learn more about Dragonfly Mission Confirmed for 2028 Launch to Saturn’s Moon TitanPress Release
Apr 17, 2024Dragonfly Mission Confirmed for 2028 Launch to Saturn’s Moon Titan
NASA’s Dragonfly mission to Saturn’s moon Titan has been confirmed, enabling the mission to progress through its final design and eventual construction and testing. The game-changing mission, equipped with a mobile eight-rotored lander that will fly autonomously, will advance our understanding of the chemical origins of life and explore dozens of locations on Titan. -
![Larry Paxton]()
Learn more about Johns Hopkins APL Space Scientist Paxton Wins International Distinguished Service AwardNews
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. -
![Patrick Binning]()
Learn more about Patrick Binning Earns University of Colorado Boulder Alumni Honor for Aerospace ContributionsNews
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. -
![Ella Dobson, shortly after arriving at APL in 1960]()
Learn more about Remembering Trailblazing Johns Hopkins APL Mathematician Ella DobsonNews
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. -
![A mounted plastic prototype of the Compact Hyperspectral Air Pollution Sensor Demonstrator (CHAPS-D) instrument, additively manufactured at APL]()
Learn more about Johns Hopkins APL Researchers Take Additive Manufacturing to New HeightsNews
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.
