Era of Small Missions
(1990-present)
PreNASA (1936-1958)
Early NASA (1958-1969)
Growth of Planetary Exploration (1970-1989)
TEXT-ONLY Version (1936-present)
April 1990:
Wide Field Planetary Camera
launches with Hubble Telescope from Shuttle.
Mission STS-41
Ulysses in cargo bay
of Space Shuttle Discovery
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October 1990:
Ulysses is launched
from Space Shuttle
to investigate the Sun.
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Ulysses spacecraft
shown in flight configuration.
Illustration by David Hardy.
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August 1992: TOPEX/Poseidon ocean satellite begins operation.
October 1992: JPL is placed on EPA
Superfund clean up list due to detection of low
levels of solvents in the groundwater near JPL.
August 1993: Due to technical difficulties,
Mars Observer does not complete its mission in Mars orbit.
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December 1993: Wide Field Camera upgrade
is installed on Hubble Telescope.
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Hubble Space Telescope
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April 1994:
Deep Space Network
begins using
beam waveguide 34M
antennas.
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July 1994: Assistant JPL Directors
designation replaced by Directorates.
July 1994: JPL disseminates on-line images via
the Internet during the impact of comet
Shoemaker-Levy 9 with Jupiter.
3.2 million access
hits are logged in during 1994 from 59 countries.
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November 1996: Mars Global Surveyor launches, with Mars Observer instruments.
July and August 1997:
“Cheap and quick” Pathfinder
with Sojourner rover arrives
and explores Mars. 565 million hits
are logged at the Pathfinder Internet Sites
(JPL + 11 mirror sites) between
July 1 and August 4, 1997.
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Newly deployed rover sitting on Martian surface
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October 1997: Cassini is launched
to investigate Saturn and Titan.
October 1998: Deep Space 1 is launched using ion drive.
February 1999: Stardust launched to explore a comet,
robotically obtain samples and return them to Earth.
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March 1999: Wide-Field Infrared Explorer (WIRE)
is launched. However, unable to carry out its
primary science mission, spacecraft operations
redirects its use to onboard star tracker
for long-term monitoring of bright stars in support
of two separate science programs: astroseismology
and planet-finding.
June 1999: SeaWinds weather radar system is launched.
In addition to its primary role of measuring oceanic
winds, this spaceborne scatterometer significantly
contributes to non-ocean studies in vegetation and
polar ice.
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