Announcements

NASA’s Next-Gen Near-Earth Asteroid Space Telescope Takes Shape

Project News • May 5th, 2026

The Near-Earth Object (NEO) Surveyor — NASA’s first infrared space telescope purposely designed to discover potentially hazardous asteroids and comets — is undergoing integration and testing. With launch set for no earlier than September 2027, teams across the United States are hard at work...

Harry Teplitz Named IPAC Head of Science Staff, Roberta Paladini as Deputy

IPAC News • April 6th, 2026

IPAC has named Drs. Harry Teplitz as its new Head of Science Staff (HoSS) and Roberta Paladini as Deputy Head, tasking the senior researchers with leading the center's scientific community and advocating for its diverse research initiatives. Teplitz transitioned into the lead role after serving...

NASA Awards Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellowships for 2026

Project News • March 25th, 2026

NASA Honor Awards recognize IPACers working on Euclid, NEOWISE, and Roman

IPAC News • February 25th, 2026

On January 22, 2026, dozens of IPAC staff members were recognized at the NASA Honor Awards ceremony. With Group Achievement Awards handed out to teams working on Euclid, NEOWISE, and the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, the wide array of work highlights IPAC’s diverse and cutting-edge research...

Caltech and IPAC Mourn the Passing of Carl Grillmair (1959–2026)

IPAC News • February 22nd, 2026

Carl Grillmair, an astronomer at Caltech's IPAC science and data center for astronomy and planetary science, passed away suddenly on February 16, 2026. He was 67 years old.

Journey to Center of Milky Way With Upcoming NASA Roman Core Survey

IPAC News • January 23rd, 2026

At the heart of our own galaxy, there is a dense thicket of stars with a supermassive black hole at the very center. NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will provide the deepest-ever view of this zone, revealing stars, planets, and unique objects that resist definition.

Liftoff of Pandora - NASA’s Newest Planet-Observing Satellite

Project News • January 12th, 2026

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying NASA’s Pandora small satellite lifted off at 5:44 a.m. PST Sunday, Jan. 11, from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base located on California’s central coast.

Astronomers Discover the First Galaxy-wide Wobbling Black Hole Jet in a Disk Galaxy

IPAC News • January 8th, 2026

Astronomers using W. M. Keck Observatory on Maunakea, Hawaiʻi Island have uncovered the largest and most extended stream of super-heated gas ever observed flowing from a nearby galaxy, providing the clearest evidence yet that a supermassive black hole can dramatically reshape its host galaxy far...

Young Galaxies Grow Up Fast

Project News • January 8th, 2026

Astronomers have captured the most detailed look yet at faraway galaxies at the peak of their youth, an active time when the adolescent galaxies were fervently producing new stars. The observations focused on 18 galaxies located 12.5 billion light-years away.

NASA’s Pandora Satellite, CubeSats to Explore Exoplanets, Beyond

Project News • January 8th, 2026

A new NASA spacecraft called Pandora is awaiting launch ahead of its journey to study the atmospheres of exoplanets, or worlds beyond our solar system, and their stars.