Fires nearly disrupted NASA’s communications with the Voyager and Juno probes

The forest fires that have spread across southern California have become a serious threat not only to local residents, but also to the work of scientific institutions, particularly NASA. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena has been evacuated due to a fire in the Eaton area. Although the science center was not affected, the emergency situation severely disrupted the processes involved in data processing. 

The empty Space Flight Operations Center at JPL in Los Angeles, California. Photo: Nola Taylor Redd

The Deep Space Network (DSN), a large radio antenna network that provides communications with spacecraft, was able to maintain its functionality throughout the evacuation. The DSN team provided continuous communications with all active missions, including the Voyager probes, the Mars rovers, and the Juno lander exploring Jupiter.

JPL Director Laurie Leshin said more than 150 employees lost their homes to the fires and more were forced to evacuate. Despite this, the JPL administration quickly organized a relief fund for the affected employees to support them during this difficult time. Most workers have temporarily switched to remote work.

60 years of continuous operation

The federally funded JPL is NASA’s key space mission control center. The Mission Control Center has been in continuous operation since 1964. DSN operations were temporarily moved to a backup operations center to ensure safety and functionality. Thanks to these measures, not a single piece of data was lost, as confirmed by Nicola Fox, NASA’s deputy administrator, during a meeting of the American Astronomical Society.

However, the evacuation caused delays in the processing of scientific data. This affected near real-time data, including soil moisture measurements from the SMAP platform, as well as Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) data analyzing atmospheric characteristics twice a day. 

Although JPL has remained unscathed, the situation remains tense due to the dry weather forecast through Wednesday. Despite all the difficulties, the NASA team’s work demonstrates a high level of resilience and dedication to its mission.

Earlier we reported on how Elon Musk was distributing free Starlink to survivors of the Los Angeles wildfires.

According to Space

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