The 2012 Open House event at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. drew around 38,000 visitors. The theme for this year’s event was “Great Journeys,” and it gave visitors a chance to speak with engineers, scientists, and technologists involved in areas such robotics, Mars research, microdevice fabrication, and climate science.

Exhibits this year included:

• The Spacecraft Assembly Facility, where many satellites and instruments have been assembled
• A display on Voyager spacecraft hardware
• A walk through the Space Flight Operations Facility
• Information on JPL’s airborne science program

Many of JPL’s facilities were open to the public and staff was on-hand to answer questions about JPL’s past, current, and potential future missions.
 

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	While holding a CubeSat, a visitor learns about what these tiny satellites can be used for.
	Visitors take a look at the JPL Machine Shop, where many spacecraft parts have been fabricated.
	Future technologists pose with a clean room technician.
	Visitors examine a rover wheel.