Caltech IPAC

ALT This photo features a natural, outdoor headshot of Dave Cook, a man with short, dark brown hair and a friendly smile, looking directly at the camera. He is wearing a light blue and white tiny-patterned button-up shirt. The background is softly out of focus, showing green outdoor foliage with natural sunlight filtering through leaves.

ALT This is a close-up outdoor photo of Joe Mazzarella, the former Science Lead for the NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database (NED) who retired in September 2026. The photo shows a man with wavy dark hair, dark-tinted glasses, and a short beard smiling warmly at the camera. He is wearing a black leather jacket over a maroon shirt. In the blurred background over his right shoulder, two penguins stand on a rocky, gravelly shore.

ALT Joe Masiero, in an orange Caltech JPL shirt, uses his hands to explain NEO Surveyor to a young visitor at a table holding a gray model of the telescope. Ishan Mishra smiles behind him, and Sergio Fajardo-Acosta speaks to guests in the foreground.

ALT Joe Masiero, Ishan Mishra, and Sergio Fajardo-Acosta, in orange Caltech JPL shirts, talk with a crowd of visitors at the NEO Surveyor booth. The banner behind them reads that NASA’s Near-Earth Object (NEO) Surveyor is the first space telescope specifically designed to detect asteroids and comets that may be potential hazards to Earth.

ALT Ishan Mishra stands behind a gray model of NEO Surveyor while Sergio Fajardo-Acosta explains the mission to a visitor in front of a glowing starry panel. At left, a volunteer from the neighboring VERITAS booth talks with other guests.

ALT A busy exhibit hall at Explore JPL with lit NASA mission displays for VERITAS, NEO Surveyor, Weather, and Atmosphere. Volunteers in red and orange Caltech JPL shirts talk with groups of visitors, many carrying red Explore JPL tote bags.

ALT Two scientists point to four screens showing data downlinking progress.

ALT Scientists sit and stand around computers showing data downlinking progress

ALT Two scientists discuss content on the screens showing data downlinking progress.

ALT This is a group photo of five people standing against a white wall and looking and smiling at the camera while each holding a plaque of their Minor Planet designation. The individuals are (from viewer's left to right): Chris Gelino, Roc Cutri (holding Carl Grillmair's plaque), Marcy Harbut, Sergio Fajardo-Acosta, and J. Davy Kirkpatrick.

ALT This image contains a plaque dedicated to an asteroid officially designated (872236) CARLGRILLMAIR. There are three color images of space, each containing a small red circle indicated the minor planet named after the IPAC researcher Carl Grillmair. The text on the plaque reads: Discovery: 2015-04-12 / WISE / WISE / C51 Citation: Carl Grillmair (1959-2026) was a Canadian-American astronomer working at IPAC at Caltech. His research focused on galactic halos and stellar debris streams, and he used survey data to identify dozens of tidal stellar streams around the Milky Way. Carl was a member of the Spitzer Science Center Team, and the WISE, NEOWISE, and NEO Surveyor Science Data Center. Image credit: Marcy Harbut (Caltech/IPAC)

ALT A family of four wearing astronomy-themed outfits pose together with their ice cream treats in front of an ice cream truck.

ALT Four adults (two women, two men) and two small children pose for a group photo while sitting at a picnic table.

ALT A group of about 30 people are gathered in a park under a shady canopy of oaks, either standing or sitting on benches, while listening to IPAC Executive Director Tom Greene, who is standing and facing the crowd.