Odyssey April 2002: Open House -- CLOSED

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Odyssey, April 2002. Editor: Kris Cerone

Open House - CLOSED

by Robert Gounley

For two days each May, a federal laboratory opened its doors to visitors. It hardly looks like the sort of place to attract much notice -- dozens of nondescript government buildings perched on a hillside and lining one shore of a dry riverbed. If it were an ordinary laboratory, the visitors would primarily be the employees' families, solemnly inspecting the cubicles where loved ones earn their livings.

This, however, is not an open house at an ordinary laboratory. This is NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. This is where scientists and engineers design, build, and operate spacecraft that tour the Solar System. Discoveries made through JPL make headlines and fill textbooks. Two Voyager spacecraft revealed volcanoes on Io and rings around Neptune. A robotic rover named Sojourner made the surface of Mars as familiar as our own backyard. Every day, dozens of spacecraft, calling from millions and billions of kilometers away, channel their messages through JPL's switchboards.

To space enthusiasts, this is a magical place. Every year, almost fifty thousand visitors, some coming from across the country, found their way to the JPL Open House. There, hundreds of JPL employees excitedly told friends, family, and total strangers what they do. The latest pictures from Mars competed for attention with rocket engines powered by electricity and with telescopes that could see the universe in frequencies our own eyes cannot detect. There was so much to see and do that visitors patiently coped with long lines and heat, promising to come again the following year.

I know because I am one of the JPL employees who gave their time to greet everyone. My running commentary, seasoned with occasionally dubious humor, gave riders on my tour bus directions to interesting exhibits and answered questions JPL's history and mission. After two days my voice would be raw. Each year I enthusiastically volunteered to do it all again.

This year, my voice will rest. Open House has been cancelled.

Our nation is at war and many things we used to take for granted are now planned with the utmost caution. As stated in a JPL website, "After consideration and review of security and logistics required to hold Open House, we have determined it is not possible to hold this event in May."

I'm hopeful that these problems can be overcome, but have no idea when or how. The praise and support shown by the visitors, especially the children, will be a powerful incentive to find a solution. Until then, space enthusiasts must make do with virtual tours via the World Wide Web (see www.JPL.NASA.gov).

I want to personally thank everyone who has come to past Open Houses. Your attendance proves how widespread the interest in space exploration is. It's a powerful incentive to do great things.

May we meet again soon. There's so much to tell you about.