Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena
sending spacecraft to the planets. But I had no idea
across the solar system, from spacecraft in orbit
that it was very close, within a few miles of the
around Saturn, spacecraft roving on Mars, spacecraft
university, or that the university was in charge of
orbiting Mars, spacecraft going to comets, bringing
managing it. So in my first year at the university I
samples from comets... and probably the most famous
decided to go and work part-time at the JPL – and
(other than Curiosity) are the Voyager spacecraft –
that’s how I started. When I got my PhD in
which were launched 35 years ago – they are still
electromagnetic waves I was asked if I wanted to
working, and now they are leaving the solar system,
work full-time at JPL, so I said sure, I’ll work there
moving into interstellar space...
for a year, or two years, and then come back to France
If you come on a visit to JPL, and I take you to
or to Lebanon... that was 40 years ago, and I’m still
the Mission Operations Room, which is the building
there.
next door to my office – that’s what we call the
To give you an idea about the operations of
“centre of the universe.” Because when you walk into
JPL: it has 5000 scientists and engineers, and we have
the Mission Operations Room, you will see in real
built all the American satellites which travel to the
time what humanity has accomplished. You will be
planets. As we speak today we have 25 spacecraft
seeing signals and data coming down from spacecraft