Archived articles

Applied physics laboratory

Ralph Semmel
Ralph Semmel to step down after 15 years leading APL
Published July 10, 2024
He will conclude his term as director in July 2025; search committee formed to help identify successor
Students on the DAVINCI+ team with their professor, who holds a phone so NASA engineers can participate via Zoom
Space science
Undergrads help NASA uncover the mysteries of Venus
Published April 8, 2024
Students are learning the ins and outs of the Venusian atmosphere and building a sensor for NASA's DAVINCI mission, thanks to the vision of APL planetary scientist Noam Izenberg and a small team of faculty experts
An illustration of the moon with text overlaid that reads
Space exploration
A bigger, bolder moon shot
Published Spring 2024
NASA's ambitious moon return involves plans to build a long-term human presence in the solar system / Johns Hopkins Magazine
Ed Reynolds
Awards+Honors
DART mission lead named to TIME100
Published April 13, 2023
Ed Reynolds, a program manager at APL, led a team of hundreds in successful demonstration of asteroid redirection technology
The curve of an exoplanet is illuminated by a distant star
Space exploration
JWST detects distant exoplanet
Published Jan 11, 2023
Using NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, a team led by researchers at Johns Hopkins APL confirmed the discovery of an exoplanet orbiting a red dwarf star roughly 41 light-years away
People celebrating
Planetary defense
Smashing success: DART alters asteroid's orbit
Published Oct 11, 2022
The history-making NASA mission, operated by the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab, shows potential for future missions to protect Earth from asteroids
A gray, rocky ball - the asteroid Dimorphos - is seen against the black backdrop in space in this image transmitted by NASA's DART spacecraft
Planetary defense
Bull's-eye! NASA's DART spacecraft slams into asteroid
Published Sept 26, 2022
Collision with asteroid Dimorphos demonstrates a mitigation technique that could be used in the future to deflect asteroids that pose a threat to Earth
An illustration of a spacecraft flying into an asteroid
Bracing for impact
DART spacecraft prepares for asteroid collision
Published Sept 14, 2022
The proof-of-concept mission managed by APL aims to demonstrate how a spacecraft can be used to deflect an asteroid that poses a threat to Earth, should one ever be discovered
Artist's rendering of the Parker Solar Probe in the Sun's corona
Mission midpoint: Parker Solar Probe makes 12th encounter with sun
Published May 31, 2022
As the spacecraft prepares its next flyby, take a look back at the record-setting mission already considered by NASA to be a smashing success
A person runs on a treadmill while another person tracks their movement
Military health
Fatigue monitoring system could prevent warfighter injuries
Published May 31, 2022
The system tracks aerobic and anaerobic exercises to predict the risk of musculoskeletal injuries and protect those who are at high risk for injuries