Three groundbreaking new initiatives to investigate Earth and the universe have been chosen to advance through the Brinson Exploration Hub at Caltech. Each project features a co-lead from Caltech’s campus alongside a counterpart from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and aims to chart the enigmatic strands of matter between galaxies utilizing ultraviolet radiation, employ seismic waves to visualize Antarctic glaciers, and activate an autonomous underwater vehicle to assess water and ice characteristics beneath ice shelves near the polar regions. Another proposition, concentrated on lunar exploration, will proceed into a developmental stage for further exploration.
These initiatives are the inaugural selections through the Brinson Exploration Hub, established at Caltech in 2024. The initial proposal cycle prompted submissions from a diverse array of teams hailing from Caltech’s campus and JPL, which Caltech manages on behalf of NASA.
In line with the Brinson Hub’s “core principles,” these initiatives were chosen for their capacity to promote scientific and societal advantages, leverage emerging opportunities within the wider Earth and space exploration landscape, and be executed with agility and a tolerance for risk. Additionally, each project incorporates an educational component, demonstrating the Brinson Hub’s dedication to nurturing “space-savvy alumni.” Ultimately, these projects further the broader goals of Caltech and JPL.
The Brinson Exploration Hub was initiated through a $100 million donation from The Brinson Foundation to empower scientists and engineers from both the campus and JPL to collaborate on pioneering science projects that develop and assess new research methodologies and instruments, enhancing our comprehension of the universe. This collaboration, which embraces external partnership opportunities, including those with commercial and nonprofit organizations, allows for the execution of higher-risk initiatives on accelerated timelines and at reduced costs compared to traditional approaches.
“We sought more than just viable ideas; we aimed for teams eager to construct and deploy,” remarked Brinson Hub director Mark Simons, the John W. and Herberta M. Miles Professor of Geophysics at Caltech. “These initiatives distinguished themselves not only for their potential impact but also for the tangible advancement their teams had made towards execution. Each one embodies the essence of the Brinson Hub: a readiness to take calculated risks, to act swiftly, and to collaborate across disciplines and institutions. This initial portfolio is teaching us to approach our work innovatively, demonstrating how to transition from concept to implementation with urgency and intent.” Each chosen project is at a varying developmental phase, from early stages to full execution.
Exploring the Invisible Universe
Throughout his career, Chris Martin, the Edward C. Stone Professor of Physics and director of Caltech Optical Observatories, has contemplated ways to render the unseen structure of the universe visible. A mere 5 percent of all standard matter in the universe exists within galaxies like our Milky Way; the remaining 95 percent is dispersed in diffuse filamentous strands that weave through the universe like a spiderweb, discovered around galaxies in the circumgalactic medium and interspersed between them in the intergalactic medium. Martin had envisioned methods for how to visualize the faint cosmic web in the ultraviolet spectrum; however, it was not until a serendipitous meeting at a Brinson Hub Workshop in 2024, where he encountered JPL systems engineer Laura Jones-Wilson, that those visions began to materialize.
Earlier in her tenure at JPL, Jones-Wilson was part of a team of engineers that constructed a telescope known as STABLE (Subarc sec Telescope And BaLloon Experiment), a highly precise telescope system designed for deployment on scientific balloons. The telescope was never utilized and remained stored in a box in a JPL warehouse for years.
During the Brinson Hub workshop, Jones-Wilson attended a presentation by Martin outlining how a balloon-based telescope could be employed to visualize the cosmic web. High-altitude balloons present a straightforward means to position telescopes above Earth’s obscuring atmosphere without the expense of costly rocket launches. Jones-Wilson realized she possessed a telescope—the now-stored STABLE—that could be ideal for capturing images of the cosmic web.
“I informed Chris that there was a telescope merely sitting, awaiting utilization,” Jones-Wilson states. “It was an extraordinary and serendipitous moment, and we continued to refine the concept during and after the workshop.”
This collaboration resulted in their Brinson Hub proposal for the STABLE Cosmic Web Imager (SCWI), a high-altitude-balloon-borne telescope designed to map cosmic structures that shed light on the formation and evolution of our galaxy. The balloon will circumnavigate the South Pole for several weeks, observing ultraviolet emissions from both the circumgalactic medium and intergalactic medium located 7 billion light-years away. SCWI will lay the groundwork for larger missions to investigate the cosmos, including NASA’s Ultraviolet Explorer (set to launch in 2030 and led by Caltech’s Fiona Harrison, the Harold A. Rosen Professor of Physics).
“It’s crucial to comprehend how we—humans, our solar system, our galaxy—arrived here,” Martin expresses. “It provides perspective on our position in the universe. It constitutes the fundamental cultural backdrop within which every human that has ever existed resides. I believe that’s why many are captivated by space exploration; it serves as a form of history. We are charting things that have never been charted before.”
The team is currently in a year-long maturation phase, during which they are perfecting the UV instrument design, inspecting the STABLE payload, and securing funding for complete execution.
The Hostile Frontier
Antarctica is, in numerous respects, an extraterrestrial environment: Its extreme conditions are unwelcoming to life, and its seclusion complicates access. However, comprehending this region is essential, as melting ice from Antarctic glaciers and ice sheets continues to affect global sea levels. Particularly, the grounding line of an Antarctic glacier—the junction where it extends from land and floats in seawater—is one of the most unreachable areas on the planet. Nevertheless, how glaciers respond to ocean tides demonstrates how these intricate natural systems will react under a shifting climate.
A partnership between Zhongwen Zhan (PhD ’13), professor of geophysics and the Clarence R. Allen Leadership Chair and director of Caltech’s Seismological Laboratory; and JPL’s Joel Steinkraus, systems engineer in the Technology Infusion Group, seeks to make this remote area visible through seismic imaging. Their initiative, GLASS (Grounding zone Long-term Acoustic Sensing of Structure), plans to deploy up to 10 kilometers of fiber-optic cable on Antarctica’s Union Glacier, situated near the West Antarctic Peninsula. Utilizing a technique known as distributed acoustic sensing (DAS), the team will transmit beams of laser light through the fiber-optic cables and assess how seismic waves perturb the light traveling through the fiber. This approach can effectively visualize the ice-ocean interface as tides alter the position of the floating ice shelf.
“We’ve accomplished much with DAS in the past, but this is different,” Zhan comments. “We’re advancing the technology in ways we haven’t before—designing for extreme environments, constructing…“`html
swiftly, and striving for genuine scientific outcomes within a brief timeframe. That’s what renders this endeavor thrilling. We’re not merely assessing a novel instrument; we’re endeavoring to unveil a portion of Earth that has remained concealed.
Zhan has utilized DAS on fiber-optic cables globally, but due to Antarctica’s severe conditions, the team will be employing a new iteration of DAS that is lightweight and energy-efficient. Their timeline is ambitious (with just 9 months from initiation to implementation) and, like any rapid development, presents inherent risks and obstacles. Yet the team remains optimistic—DAS has been thoroughly examined for various applications, employing seismic waves to visualize sections of the crust–mantle boundary, monitor groundwater movement, and even capture vibrations from individual floats in the annual Rose Parade in Pasadena. Ultimately, the new version of DAS could be deployed on the Moon—another harsh, inhospitable landscape—to investigate seismic activities within the lunar interior.
“The Antarctic area resembles the depths of Earth or the ocean floor. This environment is quite difficult to comprehend, and we’re aiming to illuminate it,” Steinkraus remarks. “When you dispatch equipment to Mars and into orbit, you’re somewhat separated from observing how your hardware is utilized. This is more concrete. We’re visiting exceptional locations and immersing ourselves in the environment that will yield the science, one of the most secluded and harsh areas on Earth.”
The team intends to execute a complete deployment in Antarctica by late 2025.
Underneath the Antarctic ice
Another project backed by the Brinson Exploration Hub, called SURGE (SUbsurface Robotics for Grounding zone Exploration), also targets Antarctic ice shelves. Instead of employing seismic sensors, SURGE will implement an autonomous underwater robotic device to investigate and collect data in the icy waters beneath the ice shelves. This region, where ice and water converge, lies under hundreds of meters of ice and is consequently challenging to reach, but it is crucial for understanding the speed at which ice shelves are melting, the factors that affect these processes, and the consequences of rising sea levels.
SURGE is a collaboration involving Caltech’s Andy Thompson, the John S. and Sherry Chen Professor of Environmental Science and Engineering, director of the Ronald and Maxine Linde Center for Global Environmental Science, and executive officer for Environmental Science; alongside JPL’s Paul Glick, a robotics mechanical engineer in the Extreme Environment Robotic Systems Group.
The autonomous device, known as IceNode, will assess temperature, salinity, and melting rates from beneath ice shelves by adhering to the base of the ice shelf and then occasionally floating with the underwater current to explore new sites.
“It’s one of the most challenging areas to explore on Earth and, as such, is one of the least examined,” Glick states. “However, it is one of the most crucial places, both scientifically and socially.”
The team is additionally developing an affordable and scalable manufacturing technique to construct numerous IceNode robots that researchers globally can utilize to conduct underwater studies. Furthermore, upcoming missions to glacial worlds like Jupiter’s moon Europa and Saturn’s moon Enceladus may derive inspiration and insights from IceNode’s capabilities in settings where communications are hindered by vast distances and substantial underwater pressures.
“This type of development would typically require years, yet we’re accomplishing it in months,” Thompson explains. “We’re establishing a platform that can expand, allowing access to regions that are challenging to reach. The scientific need is pressing, and the urgency of comprehending ice loss due to climate change means we cannot delay.”
The team is currently assessing potential sites for deployment in Antarctica and Greenland in 2026.
Investigating the Moon
The Brinson Exploration Hub is also endorsing a feasibility evaluation for a lunar mission concept that merges geophysical examination with autonomous navigation. The proposed large-scale mission, termed CLARITI (Caltech-JPL Lunar Autonomous Reconnaissance Investigation and Technology Infusion), involves a lunar orbiter that will map surface topography and gravity fields, measurements expected to yield new perspectives on the Moon’s interior structure and inform future explorations.
The feasibility study is concentrated on refining the mission architecture—its overall design and composition—and its alignment with potential collaborators. The study is co-led by Caltech’s Aaron Ames, the Bren Professor of Mechanical and Civil Engineering and Control and Dynamical Systems, and JPL’s Ryan Park, supervisor for the Solar System Dynamics Group. The study is facilitated by Allen Farrington, program area manager in JPL’s Office of Technology, Infusion, and Strategy, and Katherine Park, strategic planner in JPL’s Office of Strategy and Formulation.
“CLARITI offers a thrilling opportunity to explore a new approach to formulating space missions,” says Andy Klesh, associate director of the Brinson Exploration Hub. “It combines many elements we cherish, and we’re exploring additional architectures that align with the Brinson Hub’s pace, scale, and collaboration-driven model. It’s a chance to reimagine how we design missions to be more agile and flexible.”
Altogether, these initiatives embody the Brinson Exploration Hub’s fundamental mission: to expedite groundbreaking science, develop and implement swiftly, and nurture profound collaboration between researchers on Caltech’s campus and at JPL.
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