Working at JPL has its perks. For instance, getting to go check out the Mars Science Laboratory rover known as Curiosity anytime the mood strikes. Here are a couple photos around campus and in the spacecraft assembly clean room.
The main auditorium for guest presentations is in the middle of the spacecraft exhibit hall. They have full-scale mock-ups of most of the major spacecraft to come out of JPL.
There is a significant resident deer population on the JPL grounds. These deer let you walk right by them without batting an eyelash! Talk about lucky deer! No predators, plenty of green healthy grass, and many devoted followers.
The MSL crane assembly sitting on the cleanroom floor. It looks like most of the components have already been attached.
The MSL heat shield covered in protective foil waiting for final assembly and a fiery death in the martian atmosphere.
Some MSL rover bits waiting for final assembly. The launch date for the MSL was pushed back to 2011 so construction has been slowed down a bit. No one was out on the floor when I was there.
All of the badges on the wall are mission patches from the successful and unsuccessful robotic spacecraft that this clean room has seen pass through its doors. Soon the MSL patch will be put up there.
