Employees’ telecommuting locations will align with their work responsibilities. Increased effectiveness through direct contact with research targets is anticipated.
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory is preparing to enhance its flex-work processes by allowing technical staff to work directly at their objects of study through an In-Situ Implementation to Realize Accelerated Expansion of Learning (ISITREAL) program. For example, scientists and engineers with JPL’s Mars program will be located on Mars, and those studying the outer planets will be based near Jupiter and Saturn. People at work on astrophysics and exoplanets will be placed in appropriate locations throughout the galaxy.
“The near-shutdown of our main facility due to COVID-19 brought many challenges, but also new opportunities,” said Rio Pallof, JPL’s Director for Humanoid Resources. “At first we thought that our work would be hampered by not having people physically together, but our staff rose to the challenge and has found creative ways of collaborating with online tools. They learned when to keep their cameras off, and became quite adept at saying, ‘you’re on mute.’”
JPL’s work is carried out using both remote and direct (“in-situ”) measurements. “Remote sensing has been used for research targets that were too distant to observe up close. The Moon, Mars, and other planets were studied from Earth until we could send spacecraft to them,” noted I. M. Spork, JPL’s Chief Science Officer. “NASA has now placed devices on the Moon, on Mars, and quite near to both Jupiter and Saturn. We even have two spacecraft outside the solar system.” Spork added that while remote measurements have produced fascinating data, in-situ activity often has greater benefit and is much more logical.
There are, of course, some technical items to be resolved. While humans have gone to the Moon, and planning has been done for putting people on Mars, sending staff to the outer planets will be more challenging. Placements around the galaxy raise even further issues. “We are confident that the technical aspects of remote deployment can be resolved,” said Eddie Sun, Director for Disruptive, Innovative, and Exotic Technology. “Many of these involve propulsion, which is, after all, the ‘P’ in JPL.” Communication will also need work, since conventional radio and laser transmission is limited by the speed of light. But Sun is optimistic, noting that “not so long ago, people thought that the ‘sound barrier’ could not be broken. We got through that. The ‘light barrier’ will be the next to fall.”
While the ISITREAL program may create some additional costs, there are also savings to be realized that could ultimately balance these out. For example, projects such as the James Webb Space Telescope will not be necessary if JPL’ers are on-site and can take data with existing instrumentation.
JPL is actively addressing the administrative aspects of these remote deployments. “We are committed to compensating our staff based on local market conditions, but there appears to be a shortage of data on extra-terrestrial salaries” said Pallof, adding that consulting contracts have been placed to resolve this. “Other items that we thought could be issues are progressing well: For example, the Bank of Mars already exists as the ultimate offshore tax haven, and we will set up direct deposit for personnel deployed there.”
The Laboratory also has a strong program nearer to home: Tara Firma, JPL’s Director for Earthly Science, said, “People sometimes ask me if I work on the planetary program. I have to remind them that Earth is a planet—in fact, it’s my favorite, and I wouldn’t live anywhere else.” Earth science researchers will remain on their home planet, which offers a variety of locations for placement. Employee surveys show that Hawaii and Tahiti are especially popular, and a lottery system is being considered for making assignments.
Caltech, JPL’s parent institution, is looking at how a program analogous to ISITREAL could be used in their cutting-edge studies of subatomic and particle physics. “Having someone inside an atom would provide a unique vantage point for research, although there are issues regarding relative sizes,” said Al Onestone, Chairhuman of Caltech’s Physics Division. Initial consultation with medical professionals showed that even severe dieting would not achieve the necessary size adjustment, but other approaches, including surgical options, are being considered. While some faculty were hesitant to volunteer for these procedures, they were quick to nominate their graduate students and post-docs. “We are confident that we can implement this program,” said Onestone. “Caltech has a long record of doing amazing things, and this is just the next chapter.”
The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, operated for NASA by the California Institute of Technology, is the world’s premiere center for exploration of planetary and extra-solar phenomena—including the search for other worlds in their stars’ habitable zone. This is a good thing, as we are rapidly making Earth uninhabitable, and we’re all going to need a place to go.