Archived articles

Apl

Close up of the sun
Space exploration
Everything Under the Sun
Published Spring 2025
A NASA mission, IMAP, will investigate and map the sun's particles and energy across the entire heliosphere, using a spacecraft built by scientists and engineers at Johns Hopkins' Applied Physics Lab / Johns Hopkins Magazine
Quilt art reminiscent of the cosmos
Artifact
Art as a pathway to planetary science
Published Winter 2023
New book by Sabine Stanley makes planetary science accessible to readers while inspiring textile artists from around the world / Johns Hopkins Magazine
Maddison Harman in the Applied Physics Laboratory’s new NAMI facility
Indoor oceans for science's sake
Published Spring 2022
Opened in summer 2020, the Applied Physics Laboratory's new NAMI facility allows researchers to simulate real-life marine environments / Johns Hopkins Magazine
The Maker Buoy floating in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch
Smart tech
Buoys with a brain
Published Summer 2021
APL's Wayne Pavalko creates custom-designed, 3D-printed buoys that monitor our oceans / Johns Hopkins Magazine
Illustration of Europa's icy oceans
From the archives
Otherworldly oceans
Published Summer 2021
Researchers are almost certain a liquid ocean is hidden beneath the surface of one of Jupiter's moons. The Europa Clipper mission, set to launch this month, will help determine whether it has all the ingredients necessary for life. / Johns Hopkins Magazine
illustration of two people looking up at the night sky
Going interstellar with a sun-skirting probe
Published Spring 2021
APL's Interstellar Probe will slingshot around the sun to explore the outer reaches of the universe / Johns Hopkins Magazine
illustration of a cellphone displaying photos of rashes
Lyme selfies
Published Spring 2021
Researchers look to AI to detect Lyme disease earlier / Johns Hopkins Magazine
Screen shot of Zoom call with 14 people
The unsung mapmakers
Published Oct 5, 2020
The Johns Hopkins COVID-19 dashboard requires an array of behind-the-scenes expertise from staff at multiple divisions, selflessly working at all hours. Here's their story.
A helicopter conducts a rescue for a boat in distress
Engineering
Enhanced search and rescue
Published Fall 2020
Search and Rescue GPS beacons aboard ships or in hikers' backpacks are the last line of defense against disaster, leading to more than 50,000 rescues to date. A new project by the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory aims to make the technology even more accurate and efficient. / Johns Hopkins Magazine
Peter Thielen and Tom Mehoke prepare a hand-held DNA sequencer for operation at the molecular diagnostics laboratory at Johns Hopkins Hospital
Coronavirus
Sequencing genome of the virus behind COVID-19
Published March 30, 2020
Biologists from the Applied Physics Lab work to track the mutation of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19