For the first time in three years, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory is reopening its doors in Pasadena – and it’s completely free to visit.
The JPL has announced an open house this fall, on October 10 and 11, 2026. This is the first time the Caltech-managed command center for satellites and Mars rover missions will be open to the public since 2023.
According to their website, guests will have the chance to explore four thematic areas, including the Missions That Changed the World, Moon to Mars, In Flight, and Makerspace. Visitors will be able to enter the operations facility and assembly facility.
The event highlights include:
- The Center of the Universe: Visit JPL’s legendary Space Flight Operations Facility, a National Historic Landmark where engineers track commands and receive data from spacecraft billions of miles away.
- Witness the Future Being Built: Discover the Spacecraft Assembly Facility and JPL Machine Shop, where precision spacecraft components are crafted.
- Meet the Robots: See the latest cutting-edge innovations in robotics research, from autonomous lunar explorers to search and rescue rovers.
- Stand with Giants: Get up close with our full-scale models of the Mars Perseverance rover, Voyager, and Galileo.
- Small Wonders: Step inside the Microdevices Laboratory to see how miniature technologies are shaping the future of exploration.
Tickets will be available on Saturday, August 29, 2026, at 9 am. Guests are limited to five tickets each, and attendees must be named at the time of reservation. Slots will book up quickly. This page will be updated with more info as it becomes available.
