Johns Hopkins APL has installed a new industrial robotic arm in its advanced manufacturing facility to support research into maritime repair and manufacturing, helping identify ways to deploy these capabilities to small businesses and industry partners. https://jhuapl.link/u9j

One year since NASA’s Parker Solar Probe survived its record-setting closest approach to the Sun on Dec. 24, 2024, coming within 3.8M miles of the solar surface. Designed, built, and operated by APL, the spacecraft continues delivering groundbreaking results. https://jhuapl.link/089

APL staff members gave back to the local community this holiday season through food, clothing, laundry essentials, and toy drives. #APLCares

NASA and Johns Hopkins APL tested a first-of-its-kind breakthrough demonstrating how a spacecraft can communicate with both government and commercial networks using the Polylingual Experimental Terminal (PExT), which could extend from low Earth orbit to cislunar space. https://jhuapl.link/61e

Quantum computers could tackle problems classical machines can’t, but what would a large-scale system look like? With APL’s support, @darpa.mil is working to define what a useful quantum computer is and how it should be built. https://jhuapl.link/08s

APL has appointed Yu-Han “Hugh” Chen as head of the National Security Analysis Department. He brings over two decades of experience and will guide the integrated analysis that helps government leaders explore new capabilities and inform national security decisions. https://jhuapl.link/966

A predictive space weather model developed by Johns Hopkins APL and partners that is designed to simulate how solar storms affect Earth is now widely available to researchers and the broader public. https://jhuapl.link/5eb

NASA has selected Dartmouth College and Johns Hopkins APL to begin development on CINEMA, a mission to improve our understanding of the growing impacts of space weather. https://jhuapl.link/8cb

APL has been named one of @computerworld.com’s Best Places to Work in IT for the eighth consecutive year. Our IT Services Department enables groundbreaking research through secure, reliable technology and forward-looking innovation. https://jhuapl.link/f13

APL's GenWar Lab is an incubator that fuses analytic and advanced AI capabilities to enhance wargames and tabletop exercises. GenWar Lab builds on APL’s expertise in wargaming, generative AI, and modeling to help decision-makers explore complex mission scenarios. https://jhuapl.link/598

APL and Intuitive Machines are advancing lunar infrastructure to support NASA’s Artemis program and future national security operations. This joint work on communications and navigation systems will help sustain U.S. presence in cislunar space. https://jhuapl.link/95d

APL has appointed Christopher R. Watkins as its first chief mission engineering and integration officer. He will lead Laboratory-wide efforts to strengthen collaboration and accelerate innovation for the nation’s most pressing security challenges. https://jhuapl.link/d8e

APL and @microsoft.com recently showcased MAESTRO, an agentic AI planner that coordinates diverse robot teams. The demo highlighted how large language models can help robotic systems collaborate in complex environments. https://jhuapl.link/976

Happy Thanksgiving from Johns Hopkins APL.

APL developed BAS/CS, a framework that standardizes alerts across cybersecurity tools protecting critical infrastructure. It can integrate with existing security and event-management systems to help mitigate control-system cyber threats in real time, and at no cost. https://jhuapl.link/f47

Patrick Stadter has been named mission area executive for Theater Defense within APL’s Air and Missile Defense Sector. His extensive expertise in aerospace systems and national security will guide Lab teams currently developing technologies that protect U.S. and allied forces https://jhuapl.link/rsg

A team from Johns Hopkins APL and @jhu.edu has achieved a breakthrough in noise characterization in quantum systems, advancing efforts to manage errors in quantum computing and paving the way for more reliable quantum devices. https://jhuapl.link/11a

Researchers at Johns Hopkins APL, in collaboration with DARPA, are developing methods to grow edible microbial food using nonpotable water, advancing future sustainment options for deployed personnel. https://jhuapl.link/1f5

Johns Hopkins APL has installed a new robotic arm that will enable research to advance maritime repair and manufacturing. The system could help strengthen fleet readiness, expand opportunities for future innovation in maritime industrial agility and reduce costs. https://jhuapl.link/u9j

Johns Hopkins APL is applying AI and robotics to improve domestic manufacturing. With TETRA, developing new alloys for defense now takes days instead of months. https://jhuapl.link/078

APL is bringing the power of AI and advanced analytics to wargaming. GenWar Lab leverages advanced AI and LLM capabilities to support the wargames and tabletop exercises that enable military decision-makers to explore dynamic and wide-ranging mission scenarios. https://jhuapl.link/598

APL researchers are applying quantum algorithms to accelerate complex analysis tasks that challenge classical computing, advancing next-generation approaches to information operations. https://jhuapl.link/06t

Researchers from APL and Johns Hopkins Whiting School of Engineering discovered that conventional image quality metrics don't reliably predict AI performance. The team developed a framework to enable the creation of metrics that better explain AI performance. https://jhuapl.link/published

Researchers at Johns Hopkins APL and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health are developing next-gen organoid platforms to study how repeated low-level blasts and other forms of brain trauma affect the brain, advancing protection and care for military personnel. https://jhuapl.link/026

Johns Hopkins APL engineers adapted battlefield-tested AI and upstream data fusion to enhance the precision and speed of breast cancer detection. Learn how combining multimodal data streams is revolutionizing diagnostic imaging. Watch the full video: https://jhuapl.link/cjf

APL’s BAS/CS framework is helping secure critical infrastructure by standardizing alerts across cybersecurity systems and vendors. The system is already in use by military operators. https://jhuapl.link/f47

Researchers have touted the revolutionary potential of quantum computers to take on challenges from drug discovery to cryptography. With help from Johns Hopkins APL, DARPA‬ is working to define, in practical terms, what a useful quantum computer looks like. https://jhuapl.link/08s

NASA’s IMAP mission lifted off aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 at 7:30 a.m. EDT. Led by Princeton and operated by APL, IMAP will explore the heliosphere and provide critical data for space weather forecasting, which will help protect spacecraft, satellites and human explorers. https://jhuapl.link/d11

NASA’s IMAP mission has passed its Flight Readiness Review, which certifies its readiness to initiate final launch preparation activities. IMAP is targeting a launch date of Sept. 23 from Kennedy Space Center. IMAP will map the heliosphere and advance space weather science. https://jhuapl.link/85e

Today marks 78 years of service and dedication to advancing air and space superiority. Happy birthday to the United States Air Force.

Johns Hopkins APL is revolutionizing metal manufacturing for defense. TETRA, an AI and robotics-driven effort at APL, is slashing the time it takes to design and test metallic components, cutting months of work down to days. https://jhuapl.link/078

Researchers at APL and Samsung Research have unveiled a breakthrough in solid-state cooling, doubling the efficiency of today’s commercial materials. This 2025 R&D 100 Award-winning innovation could transform industries by replacing compressor-based refrigeration. https://jhuapl.link/ea6

Apollo 16 astronauts left footprints in unexpectedly fluffy lunar soil. APL’s Tyler Powell linked that to a thermal “cold spot” detected by NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, showing how temp reveals hidden surface conditions & guides future human exploration. https://jhuapl.link/science-snapshot

Researchers at Johns Hopkins APL are advancing robotic perception with agentic AI, enabling autonomous agents to make sense of unstructured environments and plan like humans, supporting warfighters and first responders in complex, off-road situations. https://jhuapl.link/b51

NASA’s Dragonfly mission, built and managed by APL, is on schedule and on track for its 2028 launch. Each week brings progress: tests completed, hardware produced, software validated, analyses proven. The team is moving toward the 2026 start of integration and testing. https://jhuapl.link/4ac

Johns Hopkins APL has been recognized for the seventh consecutive year as one of @fastcompany.com’s Best Workplaces for Innovators. APL ranks in the top 50 worldwide for fostering innovation and bold ideas. https://jhuapl.link/47b

Johns Hopkins APL has named Andrew Mara as the new head of the Force Projection Sector. Mara is a widely recognized researcher and leader in defense, national security and related technologies. https://jhuapl.link/9e3

Angela Thompson has been named mission area executive for National Security Analysis at Johns Hopkins APL. She brings years of strong leadership and technical expertise to this critical role. https://jhuapl.link/6b5

Johns Hopkins APL researchers are exploring ways to produce food on demand by using readily available water to grow edible microbial products — an effort that could have significant implications for deployed military. https://jhuapl.link/1f5

Researchers from Johns Hopkins APL and Johns Hopkins Medicine are creating a retinal imaging platform in the form of wearable eyeglasses. This work could increase access to imaging and generate data to improve diagnostic tools and accelerate research. https://jhuapl.link/qpx

This year’s Submarine Technology Symposium at Johns Hopkins APL brought together participants from across the submarine force, allied nations, industry and academia for technical exchange and discussion on “Lethality Today and Innovation for Tomorrow.” https://jhuapl.link/83e

Stories from APL’s groundbreaking research are now in audio format. Narrated audio articles share the Lab’s critical contributions to critical challenges, technical innovation, world-class expertise and more. Available on APL’s website, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts. https://jhuapl.link/audio-articles

The Boundary Layer Transition 1B experiment launched from Norway’s Andøya Space Station in Sept of 2024. Traveling at Mach 7.2 over the Norwegian Sea, it collected data to help researchers validate more accurate modeling & prediction methods for hypersonic vehicle design. https://jhuapl.link/ifq

APL’s solid-state cooling system is a 2025 R&D 100 Award winner, recognized as an emerging tech in research and development. Built with nano-engineered materials, it moves heat more efficiently than other thermoelectrics and without moving parts and refrigerants. jhuapl.link/3b3

Researchers at Johns Hopkins APL and Johns Hopkins Medicine have achieved a breakthrough in noninvasive, high-resolution recording of neural brain activity, paving the way for nonsurgical brain-computer interfaces. https://jhuapl.link/vjl

BIOPAC Medical Systems LP, a new startup launched from a tech transfer collaboration with Johns Hopkins APL, Johns Hopkins Medicine, BIOPAC Systems, and BLOCKsynop, is advancing real-time nerve block monitoring to evaluate anesthetic effectiveness. jhuapl.link/c65

A team from Johns Hopkins APL played a central role in Vista Gladiator, a Department of Defense wargame, enhancing technical realism and addressing challenges in defending critical logistics infrastructure from adversarial threats. jhuapl.link/1ac

Melissa Terlaje has been named chief government relations officer at Johns Hopkins APL. In this role, Terlaje will lead strategic engagement with government sponsors to align APL’s work with national priorities. jhuapl.link/a8b

Researchers at Johns Hopkins APL have shown that a quantum algorithm can speed up a computationally intensive information analysis task that traditional algorithms struggle to perform. jhuapl.link/06t

Researchers at Johns Hopkins APL demonstrated a novel approach for applying machine learning to predict the performance of components produced by laser powder bed fusion, dramatically accelerating qualification of spaceflight hardware. jhuapl.link/371