Space enthusiasts, conspiracy theorists and kids-at-heart rejoice: There are orbit-bound robots hidden away in the San Gabriel Mountains foothills and you can visit them.
Once a year—and now back after a four-year-hiatus—NASA and Caltech open the doors to its robotic research lab for two days of tours, demos and presentations. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) oversees the research, fabrication and piloting of unmanned missions like Voyager and the Mars rovers.
Due to the event’s incredible popularity, JPL has switched to a timed ticketing system in recent years—and it’s gone a long way in reducing the traffic congestion getting in and the dizzying lines once inside. Admission is still free, but all guests will be required to have a ticket to enter. For this year’s event, held April 29 and 30, free tickets (limit five per person) will be distributed on April 2.
Highlights of the open house is a bird’s-eye view of the clean room where the probes come together, a tour of mission control, a walk through of the machine shop and an open-air display of rover prototypes.