SoCal Explore JPL event opens with free 2-day tour for NASA fans

Key Points:

• NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena will open its doors to the public for the first time in three years during the Explore JPL event on October 10–11, offering free tours of its facilities and space technology exhibits.
• Visitors can explore the Space Flight Operations Facility, robotics research labs, themed exhibitions on US space missions, and view full-scale models of spacecraft like the Perseverance Mars rover and Voyager.
• JPL, celebrating its 90th anniversary, has a historic legacy including launching the US's first successful satellite, Explorer 1, and managing NASA’s deep space communication network.
• The lab has recently been linked to a series of suspicious deaths and disappearances of scientists, prompting a federal investigation into potential foreign intelligence involvement targeting critical technology experts.
• Former FBI Assistant Director Chris Swecker suggested that countries such as China, Russia, and others may be behind these incidents, highlighting the strategic importance of the scientists' work at JPL.