NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — The catastrophic wildfires blazing through Los Angeles have inflicted extensive destruction throughout Southern California, and their effects have even extended beyond our planet.
The blazes have been unrelenting, demolishing residences and infrastructure over the past several days, and at one stage, they posed a risk to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena. This led the space agency to evacuate the renowned laboratory — rendering the Caltech-managed mission control center for the Deep Space Network, also known as NASA’s communication hub for missions to Mars, Jupiter, and other solar system locales, vacant for the first time since its inception in 1963, NASA representatives declared on Monday (Jan. 13).
“Our thoughts and support are with our associates at JPL, at Caltech, at UCLA and various other institutions who are facing tough times,” remarked Nicola Fox, NASA’s associate administrator for science missions, during a NASA town hall meeting at the 245th American Astronomical Society gathering. “I know many of us have friendships with individuals who’ve lost their residences; who have lost their homes.”
Nevertheless, in the midst of this chaos, the teams overseeing the Deep Space Network, or DSN, successfully maintained communication lines with NASA’s spacecraft, rovers, and probes as they continued their explorations in different regions of the solar system.
“Our remarkable DSN team has exceeded expectations to ensure that no data has been compromised,” Fox noted. “It was an extremely emotional moment, the first instance in 60 years that the mission control office at JPL was completely vacant, as personnel had to move to the emergency center.”
NASA’s Deep Space Network, which marked its 60th anniversary in 2023, employs three large radio antennas located worldwide to ensure a continuous exchange of data, telemetry, and communications with the agency’s space missions. These antennas are situated in Goldstone, California; Canberra, Australia; and Madrid, Spain — when you’ve observed NASA scientists holding their breath for the initial transmission from a Mars rover after landing, that message was relayed to Earth through the Deep Space Network.
NASA evacuated JPL last week as wildfires posed a threat to the facility, but the space center seems to have endured the crisis well. Reports indicate that the fires have claimed at least 16 lives and displaced thousands others.
“NASA JPL remains unscathed by the flames due to the courageous commitment of our first responders,” stated JPL director Laurie Leshin in a message on the social media platform X on Jan. 10. “However, our community has been profoundly affected with over 150 JPL team members who have lost their homes and many others displaced.”
Here in Maryland, Fox commended the American Astronomical Society for refunding registration charges to prospective participants affected by the fires in Los Angeles. She also mentioned that NASA has loosened its deadlines for scientists currently drafting proposals for agency funding.
“We are, as a leadership team, working on initiatives to genuinely assist our colleagues who are affected in California,” Fox stated. “I have the leadership team focused on finding the best way to alleviate at least the stress of impending funding deadlines.”
Fox expressed gratitude toward those within Southern California who have extended their personal support to those displaced by the Los Angeles wildfires.
“I want to sincerely thank … the individuals who have opened their residences, providing temporary shelter and facilities,” Fox said emotionally. “I truly appreciate the generosity being shown, and it’s truly inspiring to witness this remarkable team.”