When I was 10, upon my friend Sai’s suggestion, I wrote a letter to NASA that I love their work. In response, they sent me a packet full of stunning photos of planets and moons, making the Rs.45 stamp on my letter totally worth it! Fast forward to 2023 – I got a call from my friend Tushar one afternoon asking if I would like to go on a tour of the JPL. Despite being a space enthusiast living in LA for a couple of years, all I had done was check out the Griffith Observatory once. So this was an opportunity I couldn’t resist.
On the day of the tour, Sunil, Dips and I met at Tushar’s and took a ride in the fancy TT (Talathi Tesla). We picked up some burgers on the way and reached the facility just in time after a false alarm turn near La Cañada school.
The tour started with an informative video about the human journey to space and our accomplishments in the arena so far. We then began our walk through the campus. Right next to the auditorium was a room with models and exhibits of all the planets in order of their distance from the sun. There was also a cool little sphere marble by each display to get an idea of its size relative to the sun. It was astonishing to see such replicas of Galileo, Spirit, Oppy and also Perseverance.
The little anecdotes and info about helicopters that accompanied the perseverance to Mars was one of the highlights. It’s amazing how there’s a little piece of fabric on the helicopter (first flying object on Mars) and it’s part of the same fabric that was tagged to the first flight on earth (Wright brothers flight) – simply unbelievable!
The most memorable part of this trip was looking into the workspace where scientists were working on the Europa Clipper – scheduled to fly to Jupiter’s moon in October 2024. It was really cool to watch the geniuses at work through the viewing bridge which had a pretty neat vantage point.
We were also taken to view the command room – something I had seen in various documentaries including my recent fav Goodnight Oppy – from where most space missions are controlled. It was enlightening to learn about various satellites on the planet sending signals to space, and also the different functions of the various space centers (Florida, Maryland, California).
All in all – it was an exciting outing with friends! It was refreshing to indulge in an activity different from our usual food and drink routine. It was also a reminder of the extraordinary experiences Los Angeles and SoCal in general has to offer!