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Photo of Johns Hopkins APL’s Camera Reveals Surprise for NASA’s Lucy Mission in First Asteroid Encounter
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Johns Hopkins APL’s Camera Reveals Surprise for NASA’s Lucy Mission in First Asteroid Encounter

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Systems Engineering

Space Systems Engineering

APL’s systems engineering team provides full life-cycle systems support for studies, proposals, independent research and development, sponsor-funded projects, and full space missions or programs.

Mission systems engineers provide technical leadership, from concept and architecture development to mission operations. Subsystem engineers for each space segment, such as the spacecraft, payload, launch vehicle and other space-based platforms, manage the development, testing and operations for each segment in partnership with the systems engineering team. Special engineering core competencies are managed within the engineering team to provide subject-matter expertise in every area, including managing science requirements, fault management, reliability, risk analysis and cost models.

Missions

APL has designed, built and operated more than 70 innovative spacecraft over its six decades of spaceflight experience. Click below to learn about some of the missions that made revolutionary discoveries, and spacecraft that will push the boundaries of exploration and investigate outstanding scientific mysteries.

Learn more about NEAR
Rendering of the NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft orbiting asteroid 433 Eros

NEAR

The first launch in NASA’s Discovery program, the Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR) was the first mission to orbit and land on an asteroid.

Instruments

Scientists and engineers at APL have designed, built and operated more than 300 novel space instruments and methods to conduct cutting-edge research and make groundbreaking discoveries. Click below to learn about some of these instruments and their role in shaping our understanding of space and the solar system.

Learn more about MISE
Rendering of the Europa Clipper spacecraft nearing Europa

MISE

Mission

Europa Clipper

Destinations

Outer Moons
The Mapping Imaging Spectrometer for Europa (MISE) will map elements on the surface of Jupiter's icy moon.

Stories

Go inside APL’s space missions and research, and check out the latest news, features and discoveries from the teams that are probing mysteries from the Sun to the edge of the solar system and beyond.

A telescope observatory with a ceiling window open to the blue sky and crescent Moon above
Aug 26, 2022

DART Team Confirms Orbit of Target Asteroid

Using some of the world’s most powerful telescopes, the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) investigation team confirmed the orbit of Dimorphos around its parent asteroid, Didymos, and its expected location when the DART spacecraft impacts the moonlet next month.
Illustration of Europa Clipper with Europa and Jupiter in background
Apr 8, 2021

Europa Clipper Builds Hardware, Moves Toward Assembly

NASA’s Europa Clipper mission has passed a significant milestone, completing its Critical Design Review. Being developed by Johns Hopkins APL and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the mission can now start to assemble and test the spacecraft and its payload of sophisticated science instruments.
High-resolution mosaic image of Mars, entire planet
Feb 18, 2021

Perseverance Mission Highlights CRISM’s Continued Contributions to Martian Science

Perseverance is the most advanced Mars rover yet, strategically dispatched to a spot teeming with indicators of long-gone liquid water and, possibly, fossilized Martian life. Data from the Johns Hopkins APL-built CRISM imaging spectrometer factored into NASA’s selection of the Perseverance landing site.