What's a Compton telescope? John Tomsick, PI of COSI, explains.

Berkeley Professor Walter Alvarez, who developed the theory that the dinosaurs were killed by an asteroid impact, stopped by SSL to present his research. We had a lively debate on the likely composition of the body that created the Chicxulub crater.

SSL has been selected (along with 33 other volunteer institutions) to track Artemis II radio communications during the Orion spacecraft's 10-day journey around the moon. We're proud to support this historic mission.

The ESCAPADE mission has won an @erdayastronaut.bsky.social Astro Award! 🎉 We're proud to be recognized for our role in making interplanetary science and exploration possible at unprecedented speeds and for a fraction of the cost of traditional missions.

Our director of mission operations, Abhishek Tripathi, provided @sfgate.com some context on the return of Crew-11 aboard the SpaceX dragon capsule that streaked across Northern California skies early this morning. www.sfgate.com/bayarea/arti...

The @gaps-experiment.bsky.social 's landing only miles from its launch point is an amazing accomplishment! Looking forward to learning more about the data it gathered.

The Carruthers mission, led by University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign's Lara Waldrop and managed by SSL, has arrived at an L1 orbit between the Earth and the Sun. Its 2-year science mission observing Earth's exosphere begins in March.

🚀 “It’s about this unbelievable, gigantic, aspirational, inspirational moment in human history.” Planetary scientist Lindy Elkins-Tanton shares NASA’s goals for a crewed mission to Mars. Plus, the irresistible endeavor to learn more about the Psyche asteroid: buff.ly/O5osV30

ESCAPADE's Gold spacecraft executed a near-perfect burn on Jan 6, putting it on the kidney bean path that will bring both spacecraft back to Earth for interplanetary slingshot in November. Instrument commissioning activities begin next week.🙏to @rocketlabcorp.com and Blue Origin.

SSL Director Lindy Elkins-Tanton spoke with @scifri.bsky.social on science objectives for Mars exploration, NASA's @missiontopsyche.bsky.social and how to build teams that perform under pressure.

The ESCAPADE mission was among the top @ucberkeleyofficial.bsky.social stories of 2025! news.berkeley.edu/2025/12/15/n...

Physics World's Top 10 Breakthroughs of the Year for 2025 includes research by SSL's Zack Gainsforth on Asteroid Bennu samples. Congratulations Zack! physicsworld.com/a/top-10-bre...

SSL Director Lindy Elkins-Tanton co-chaired a @nationalacademies.org committee that identified 11 science goals for human exploration of Mars. Seeking past/present life tops the list. “This is the millennia-old question: Are we alone in the universe?” said Elkins-Tanton spacenews.com/report-ident...

Scientists with @ucberkeleyofficial.bsky.social's SSL, @berkeleylab.lbl.gov and NASA discovered compounds in Asteroid Bennu samples not known to occur in nature, showing how molecules thought necessary for life may have first emerged in cryogenic environments.👇 www.ssl.berkeley.edu/berkeley-sci...

Commissioning of NASA's twin ESCAPADE spacecraft, currently operated by @ucberkeleyofficial.bsky.social and @rocketlabcorp.com, is proceeding smoothly. ESCAPADE snapped this selfie in visible and infrared light. 👇 ssl.berkeley.edu/escapade-sen...

Our associate director for planetary science Robert Lillis spoke with the @nytimes.com about the long journey getting the trailblazer ESCAPADE mission into space. "This mission has nine lives," Lillis said. The story also features @missiontopsyche.bsky.social. 👇 www.nytimes.com/2025/11/14/s...

Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket has successfully launched NASA’s ESCAPADE mission to Mars from Cape Canaveral. ESCAPADE is the first UC Berkeley–led planetary mission, using two twin satellites, Blue and Gold, to map Mars’ magnetic field and atmosphere in 3D.

John Tomsick, PI of NASA's COSI mission, describes the practical applications resulting from gamma ray detectors. From PET scans to radiation monitoring to protecting astronauts, Compton imaging technology has a profound impact on our health and safety.

With sadness and gratitude, we honor George F. Smoot III—Berkeley Lab scientist since 1974 and 2006 Nobel Laureate in Physics—who has passed away at 80. His “baby picture” of the universe changed cosmology. https://elements.lbl.gov/news/honoring-the-legacy-of-george-smoot/ @nobelprize.bsky.social

The Carruthers mission and SSL were featured by KQED. Of the mission, our director Lindy Elkins-Tanton said, “Our big strength over time has been space weather...How does it affect our Earth’s atmosphere?... And that’s exactly what we’re going to be looking at." www.kqed.org/science/1998...

Scenes from our Mission Operations Center during launch of NASA's Carruthers, IMAP and SWFO-L1 on Sept 24. SSL operates Carruthers, built the instrumentation and contributes to the science. We also built an instrument for SWFO-L1 and lead an experiment on IMAP.

NASA's Carruthers mission launched this morning and is communicating with the Mission Operations Center at the @UCBerkeley Space Sciences Laboratory. Read more 👇 ssl.berkeley.edu/nasas-carrut...

Carruthers and ESCAPADE were featured in this @berkeleyside.org story on SSL's many contributions to space science and exploration.

It's a big week here at SSL. We built instruments for all three of the spacecraft that are scheduled to launch this week and expand our understanding of harmful space weather (IMAP, SWFO-L1 and Carruthers). www.nasa.gov/news-release...

Space science benefits every American. University space science programs are part of a vast aerospace economy that boosts local economies in every state in the country. #SpeakUp4Science #StandUpForUC

Space science is important for all Americans. Private aerospace ventures benefit immensely from the training pipeline made possible by university space science programs. #SpeakUp4Science

NASA's PADRE mission, led and built by SSL, measures X-rays emitted by solar flares at a fraction of the cost of previous missions. Its launch marks 45 years of SSL missions aimed at understanding the Sun and harmful space weather. #SpeakUp4Science www.ssl.berkeley.edu/padre-aims-t...

Big thank you to Lara Waldrop for the talk at SSL. Lara leads the Carruthers Geocorona Observatory. It will orbit the Sun to capture UV images of Earth’s exosphere. SSL built many of the instruments and will contribute to the research and operate the spacecraft.

Our next #MFAUM25 speaker is Zack Gainsforth from the UC Berkeley Soace Sciences Laboratory, telling us about their work at the Foundry studying samples from the OSIRIS-REX mission to the asteroid Bennu! @ucbssl.bsky.social @ucberkeleyofficial.bsky.social

Thank you to "Aurora Guy" @vincentledvina.bsky.social for stopping by @ucbssl.bsky.social to tell us about your efforts to engage citizen scientists and aurora chasers in space weather research.

America needs the strongest possible NASA, commercial space and university network to remain safe, growing, and inspiring. Space science underpins our national security, boosts local economies, develops new technologies/resources and reveals where we stand in the cosmos.

The Solar Polarization and Directivity X-Ray Experiment (PADRE), led by SSL, launched today. PADRE will measure polarization and directivity of hard X-rays emitted during solar flares with the aim of developing better prediction models for solar emission events.

John Bonnell, project physicist at SSL, describes NASA's TRACERS Mission, which will study the magnetopause (the boundary between the Earth's magnetosphere and the solar wind) with the aim of better understanding space weather.

Join SSL researcher and mission specialist Martin Sirk for an observational astronomy class far from city lights in the Sierra Nevada this summer. sierra.sfsu.edu/astr-216-pra...

‪Photos of the SSL/@laspatcu.bsky.social-built AETHER sensor, designed to measure electric field fluctuations in the ionosphere. The full instrument is designed for use on NASA’s Geospace Dynamics Constellation (GDC) mission to study coupling between the magnetosphere and the ionosphere.

Congratulations to former SSL undergrad Corina Dunn for being a finalist for the 2025 University Medal! Corina worked with SSL from 2022-2024. news.berkeley.edu/2025/05/08/i...

Big thanks to @edwinkite.bsky.social whose talk on prospects for terraforming Mars filled our conference room and elicited lively discussion.

SSL's designate director, Lindy Elkins-Tanton, discusses her research, leadership style and NASA's Psyche mission.

Planetary scientist Lindy Elkins-Tanton heads to UC Berkeley to lead the Space Sciences Laboratory, effective July 1. Welcome, Lindy! news.berkeley.edu/2025/05/06/p...

Our amazing undergraduate interns staffed SSL's table at Cal Day on Saturday, April 19th. They talked up SSL's undergraduate opportunities with admitted students and parents who posed for selfies with our out-of-this-world photo accessories.

The Auroral Acceleration Symposium in Honor of Charles W. (Chuck) Carlson wrapped up on Thursday, April 10th. The event included 24 talks on auroral investigations.

Aerospace Engineer Bradley Pafchek and Aerospace Instrumentation Mechanical Engineer Matt Rubly assembling the payload for NASA’s Compton Spectrometer and Imager (COSI) satellite mission at the Space Sciences Laboratory. See more at: www.ssl.berkeley.edu

John Tomsick, research scientist at SSL, explains how Compton telescopes make gamma-ray images of the sky. Tomsick is principal investigator on NASA’s Compton Spectrometer and Imager (COSI) mission which hopes to learn more about element formation and antimatter at the center of our galaxy.

John Tomsick, research scientist at SSL, discusses gamma-ray bursts. Tomsick is principal investigator on NASA’s Compton Spectrometer and Imager (COSI) mission. COSI will search the skies for gamma-rays in hopes of learning more about black holes and neutron stars.

John Tomsick, research scientist at the Space Sciences Laboratory and principal investigator on NASA’s Compton Spectrometer and Imager (COSI) mission, discusses the mysterious fountain of antimatter at the center of our galaxy. COSI will search for gamma-rays in hopes of solving the mystery.

NASA’s SPHEREx space telescope launched on Tuesday. The spacecraft, built by @caltech.edu and NASA JPL includes an instrument control electronics box designed and built by the SSL.

We're seeking applications from UC Berkeley sophomores for the Ursa Minor program. These paid apprenticeships support R&D and NASA flight projects. Applicants must be eligible for work-study and familiar with aerospace technology. Apply by March 15. 👇 www.ssl.berkeley.edu/ursa-minor/

Please join us March 13th from 4:30PM to 5:30PM at 3110 Etcheverry Hall for our next undergraduate seminar featuring Kara Gaiser, a Berkeley mechanical engineering major who intends to minor in Aerospace Engineering. She previously worked at Vast Space and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

SSL research scientist Zack Gainsforth and research chemist Kees Welten describe how decades of institutional experience aided research on asteroid samples recovered by NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft.

SSL Assistant Research Scientist @lukeliuzzo.bsky.social was a co-author on a paper recently published in AGU Advances that found stronger evidence for a subsurface ocean on Jupiter's moon Callisto.