The Jet Propulsion Laboratory may be the trendiest space exploration center on the planet right now. The robotic research lab run by NASA and Caltech managed the mission that produced the recent revelations about water on Mars and also consulted on and starred in The Martian.
This weekend, the facility is open to the public during the annual JPL Open House. From 9am to 4pm on Saturday and Sunday, you can take part in free tours, demos and presentations at the home base of missions like Voyager and the Mars rovers. It's a perennially popular event, even without the recent Martian discoveries; expect Disneyland-length lines in SGV-strength heat.
See our photos from the 2014 JPL Open House.
Some of the most exciting—and therefore most popular—attractions include tours of the machine shop, mission control and an open-air display of rover prototypes and models, including Curiosity. The banner exhibit, though, is always a peek into NASA's clean rooms. Probes, rovers and satellites are assembled in these cavernous, sterile spaces before they're sent out into the cosmos. This year, you'll be able to see a 30-foot solar array wing from the Jupiter-bound Juno probe as well as the Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator (or LDSD), an inflatable parachute of sorts that assists in the reentry of a spacecraft.
To make the most of your visit to this year's JPL Open House, we suggest the following:
Arrive early. The crowds only grow as the day goes on, and if you're waiting in line for an hour at every stop, those seven hours of the open house start to feel awfully tight.
Plan for traffic in your schedule. There's only one entrance to JPL. It's not uncommon to encounter an hourlong backup on the 210 for the Berkshire/Oak Grove exit. Surface streets may or may not be faster, though they'll certainly feel less claustrophobic. Consider biking up to JPL instead. Though you can't bring a bicycle through the facility, you're welcome to lock it up in the parking lot.
Prepare for extreme heat. Outside of a few trees and temporary tents, JPL's not-so-shaded campus doesn't provide much protection from the midday sun. Lines often exceed their shaded queues, so we highly suggest putting fashion sense aside and bringing an umbrella. Also, make sure to carry a water bottle with you—there'll be food and drink vendors stationed around the campus just in case you forget. Stay smart and safe; temperatures are expected to hit the mid-90s, so don't push yourself.
Avoid being there late on Saturday. Over 90,000 fans are expected to show up to the nearby Rose Bowl for the US vs. Mexico soccer match. Though the game doesn't start until 6pm, parking lots open at 2pm, when you can expect traffic to start turning into a nightmare.
Visit mission control or the clean room first. Those two tend to have the longest waits, though they're still bearable first thing in the morning. We suggest doing the clean room followed by the adjacent machine shop. The mission control line stays somewhat tolerable later in the day thanks to a massive shaded tent.
Use JPL's app. The research lab's open house Web app has a searchable map, estimated wait times and up-to-date notifications.