NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory to Host Free Two-Day Open House Oct 10-11

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena will hold the free Explore JPL open house on Oct 10-11, 2026, offering timed-entry tours of mission control, assembly bays and robotics labs.

For the first time in three years, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory will open its doors to the public for a two-day free event called Explore JPL, scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, Oct 10-11, 2026. Tickets will be released at 9:00 a.m. PDT on Aug 29 via the lab’s official page at jpl.nasa.gov/explore-jpl, and, according to Pasadena Now, they are expected to sell out within 10-15 minutes.

The open house will guide visitors through four themed areas, Missions That Changed the World, Moon to Mars, In Flight and Makerspace, allowing a close look at the Space Flight Operations Facility, the Spacecraft Assembly Facility, the Machine Shop, robotics research labs and full-scale models of the Perseverance rover, Voyager and Galileo spacecraft. Highlights include the National Historic Landmark mission control center where engineers send commands to spacecraft billions of miles away, and a peek inside the Microdevices Laboratory where miniature technologies for space and Earth science are being developed.

The event coincides with JPL’s 90th anniversary and comes amid a turbulent period for the lab, which has seen a roughly 25 percent workforce reduction since Dec 2023, multiple rounds of layoffs, a wildfire evacuation in Jan 2025 and a pending competitive bid for its management contract announced in May 2026. Despite these challenges, the lab is offering the community a rare chance to see the machinery behind historic missions from Voyager to Perseverance.

Explore JPL’s four thematic zones are designed to showcase the breadth of the lab’s work. In Missions That Changed the World, guests will encounter iconic artifacts and stories from Voyager, Galileo and Cassini, while the Moon to Mars area focuses on the agency’s ongoing journey to the Red Planet and beyond, featuring a full-scale Perseverance rover model.

The In Flight zone brings the engineering of spacecraft propulsion and navigation to life, with displays from the Mars Exploration Rover program and the upcoming Europa Clipper mission. The Makerspace invites hands-on interaction with robotics prototypes, including autonomous lunar rovers and search-and-rescue robots that mirror real-world applications.

Visitors will also walk through the Space Flight Operations Facility, a designated National Historic Landmark where mission controllers communicate with probes billions of miles away. Adjacent tours include the Spacecraft Assembly Facility, where hardware is built and tested, and the JPL Machine Shop, where precision components are fabricated. The Microdevices Laboratory offers a glimpse into the tiny technologies that enable future exploration.

Timed-entry tickets are free but required; each person may reserve up to five tickets, and all names must be entered at registration. Children under two do not need a ticket, but anyone 18 or older must present a government-issued photo ID at the gate. Tickets are non-transferable, cannot be sold, and duplicate names trigger automatic cancellation.

The event runs from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. PDT each day at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains. Parking is free, but security restrictions prohibit bags, backpacks, hard-sided coolers, weapons, glass containers, alcohol, pets (except certified service animals), banners, signs, professional camera equipment with detachable telephoto lenses and drones. Small purses and diaper bags are permitted.

While the lab’s workforce has been trimmed by about a quarter since late 2023, the open house remains a community priority. The lab’s current management contract, held by Caltech through Sept 30, 2028, will be opened to competitive bidding for the first time, a development noted by Pasadena Now. Organizers encourage early reservation to avoid missing the limited slots.

Explore JPL offers Angelenos a tangible connection to the missions that shape our view of the cosmos, reinforcing Pasadena’s identity as a hub of scientific innovation. The free, timed-entry format democratizes access while managing crowd flow, and the event’s timing, amid workforce cuts and a contract bid, signals JPL’s commitment to community outreach despite internal challenges.