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Photo of NASA’s DART Snaps Vega While Journeying to Didymos
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NASA’s DART Snaps Vega While Journeying to Didymos

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APL Labs & Facilities

Capabilities, Facilities and Methodology

APL is recognized as a leader in mission design and navigation; instrument development; mechanical engineering; mechanical design, thermal, and instrument accommodation; communications hardware; electrical subsystems and power; precision timekeeping devices, mission operations, and scientific research. Our facilities are essential to support our spaceflight build process and scientific discoveries.

APL operates with an AS9100C certified quality management system. That certification is specific to the Laboratory's spaceflight program management, systems engineering, design, development, production, integration, test and operation processes. APL maintains an impressive record of delivering high-quality space systems on time and on budget.

See Our Labs and Facilities

Staff members review their work at row of computers

ACE Laboratory

A laboratory to formulate mission concepts. 

APL staff member holding up a giant hourglass as a prop in the Time and Frequency Lab

APL Time and Frequency Lab

Atomic clocks in the Time and Frequency Lab support NASA and APL space missions.

Large spinning mechanism, testing the structural stability of spacecraft parts

Environmental Test Facility

A facility that hosts a range of equipment to prepare flight hardware for the extreme conditions of launch and outer space.  

APL Engineer under blue light inspecting a material sample before loading it into spectroscopy equipment

LabSPEC

A laboratory that hosts ultraviolet, visible and near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy experiments. 

Two scientists examining meteorite samples in the Meteorite Lab

Meteorite Lab

A facility equipped to investigate meteorites and geochemical processes in our solar system.

Woman at a computer desk that is part of the large mission operations room with three large projection screens on the back wall

Multimission Operations Center

Centers to serve as "command central" for APL spacecraft flying across the solar system. 

APL staff member installing large lenses with a screwdriver

Optical Calibration Facility

A facility that acts as a proving ground for optical instrumentation for spaceflight. 

APL researchers measure the distance of a particle thrown by an ejecta catapult

Planetary Impact Lab

A laboratory to investigate the nature of impacts on bodies across the solar system.

Two APL engineers on a virtual meeting, surrounded by computers and equipment covered in aluminum foil

Planetary Nuclear Spectroscopy Laboratory

A facility to design, develop and test gamma-ray and neutron sensors.

Three APL engineers in white clean room suits, one taking a photo with an iPad of another working on a large metal tank

Planetary Protection Laboratory

A team that ensures a mission's flight hardware is clear of microbes or other biological "hitchhikers."

APL engineers in the Radio Science Laboratory

Radio Science Laboratory

A laboratory to build, test, calibrate and deploy surface-based and suborbital radio frequency measuring capabilities.

APL's large satellite dish aglow in orange light under the moon

Satellite Communications Facility

A facility to provide commanding, ranging, telemetry and Doppler tracking services for sponsor missions and commercial space activities. 

APL staff member pouring liquid nitrogen into a funnel

Simulated Airless Body Emission Laboratory

A facility to perform thermal infrared investigations of geologic materials in realistic planetary environments. 

Engineer inspecting a 16-pronged antenna upwards at an angle

Space Exploration Sector Antenna Test Ranges

Measurement facilities to develop antennas for a variety of space applications and missions.

A man wearing blue gloves in a lab puts a rod into a container labeled AVEC

APL Venus Environment Chamber (AVEC)

An environmental chamber for testing materials, sensors and gas-solid samples at Venus-like surface conditions.

A woman stands under a large semicircular measuring stick with her hand on one of four silver discs, which she observes on a computer monitor

Planetary Surface Texture Laboratory

A facility for simulating and studying the reflectance and polarization characteristics of planetary surface analog materials.

A woman in a white lab coat points at a computer monitor while a man standing next to her holds a petri dish of a planetary material

Planetary Exploration Research Laboratory (PERL)

Home to several Laboratory efforts, from fundamental and mission science research, to instrument development and testing, to sample preparation and cryogenic storage.