NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Hello, December skies! ✨ This month, enjoy dazzling views of Venus, see Jupiter at its brightest, and look for the Winter Triangle. Early morning skywatchers might spot some of the brighter Geminids through moonlight when the meteor shower peaks after midnight on Dec. 14. More skywatching tips: go.nasa.gov/37ePy0B

“Here on Earth, where there’s water, there’s life." Meet Valeria Salazar, a systems engineer on the Europa Clipper mission who helped integrate and assemble hundreds of components that make up the spacecraft. As a child growing up in Mexico, Salazar learned about NASA and dreamed of working at the agency one day. She started her career as an intern, and after finishing school, became a member of the Europa Clipper team.

This story is really beginning to unfold: Since launch, Europa Clipper has deployed its solar arrays, magnetometer boom, and the antennas for its ice-penetrating radar instrument. So what's next for the mission? go.nasa.gov/3CLezDN

We are known as a leader in robotic space exploration. Here's one of those innovative projects: A futuristic NASA mission concept that involves a swarm of autonomous, self-propelled, cellphone-size robots that could look for signs of life in ocean waters beneath the frozen shells of icy moons. Meet SWIM, short for Sensing With Independent Micro-swimmers: go.nasa.gov/4eDCuSO

When Voyager 1 stopped sending science and engineering data to Earth in November 2023, the team began a months-long process to diagnose and problem-solve the issue. Join us for a live conversation with the team and ask your questions about the historic question.

NISAR will be a global mission with local impacts. The powerful Earth-observing satellite will continuously scan the globe, tracking changes in Earth’s surface and providing insights that could help efforts to mitigate risks to critical infrastructure, such as dams, levees, and bridges. Hear from experts in South Dakota, West Virginia, and Nebraska describe how they plan to use NISAR data to help keep communities safer. 🦺

We don’t always notice it, but much of Earth’s surface is in constant motion. NISAR – an upcoming Earth-observing satellite from NASA and ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) – will be able to detect these motions down to a fraction of an inch, potentially helping communities prepare for and recover from natural and human-caused disasters like earthquakes, volcanoes, and landslides. How will it work? go.nasa.gov/3UI5p0M

What's up, space fans! It's a new month, and if you know when and where to look, you'll have the opportunity to see Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, and Venus – and much more! Here's your skywatching guide for November: go.nasa.gov/37ePy0B

What do you get when mechanical engineers accustomed to building one-of-a-kind spacecraft turn that focus to pumpkins? JPL's annual pumpkin-carving contest! In this yearly tradition, teams have 60 minutes to prepare their pumpkins – frantic sawing, drilling, painting, and wiring – before racing into two conference rooms nearby to install the pumpkins into displays. Non-pumpkin materials can be prepared beforehand. Happy #NASAHalloween! 🎃