New Horizons' Zoomed-in Sunset View of Pluto
One of the Two Van Allen Probe Satellites
Scientists Detect Magmatic Water on Moon's Surface
Artist Rendering of the APL's Radiometer Assessment using Vertically Aligned Nanotubes (RAVAN) Satellite to Study the Earth's Radiation Budget
Field Aligned Currents from AMPERE
Welcome to the JHU/APL Space Science Research Portal. APL conducts scientific research in planetary science, heliophysics and Earth science that includes all aspects of our solar system, from the Sun to Pluto and everything in between (and beyond!). Our space research is conducted in APL's Space Exploration Sector, a sector that includes not only world class research scientists but top notch engineers who have designed satellites, space instruments and ground systems that enable the ground breaking discoveries, most recently demonstrated by the APL designed and built New Horizons satellite that enabled observations of Pluto and her moons.
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Latest News
April 29, 2015
New Horizons Returns Its Best Images of Pluto
A Pluto-bound NASA probe has captured the best-ever images of the dwarf planet, revealing surface features that include a possible polar ice cap.
Read MoreMarch 13, 2015
APL Leads Energetic Particle Team Research on NASA's MMS Mission
When NASA's Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, on Thursday, March 12, it delivered a four-spacecraft experiment into Earth orbit that will study an important phenomenon called magnetic reconnection.
Read MoreJune 11, 2015
NASA Funds Johns Hopkins APL Miniature Gamma-Ray Spectrometer
NASA has awarded $3 million for development of a compact gamma-ray spectrometer by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL); APL will lead the effort.
Read MoreJanuary 27, 2016
Here's how long it would take to visit the closest star in our galaxy
We've all asked this question at some point in our lives: How long would it take to travel to the stars?
Read MoreApril 30, 2015
Fire and Ice: A MESSENGER Recap
The planet closest to the Sun is, ironically, one of the coldest. That's just one of many mind-bending discoveries about Mercury that NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft beamed back to Earth over the past 7 years.
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