NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Pasadena, CA
Space Flight Operations Facility Mission Support Area
the challenge
JPL approached Amplified Design to create a “multi-mission” flexible AV system for the 45 new collaboration areas across multiple floors of their Space Flight Operations Facility. The project had to be completed in time for the launch of the highly anticipated Perseverance Mars Rover in July of 2020.
JPL was looking for a centralized video distribution system that would allow users to easily share content between multiple mission project teams and have access to audio and web conferencing capabilities.
the solution
Amplified Design created an easy to use and maintain system across 11 custom spaces. A combination of 27 Crestron Mercury conferencing units, nearly 200 DM-NVX streaming media devices, 11 Biamp TesiraFORTÉ DSP and Sennheiser TeamConnect ceiling microphones providing room combine-divide and flexible furniture configuration options from one mission to the next.
The smaller conference rooms and huddle spaces are equipped with Crestron Mercury conferencing units to provide an equally elegant solution
Crestron Mercury Tabletop UC Video Conference System
JPL’s Mission Control in Pasadena, CA
The DM-NVX backbone links video distribution to both the large and small work rooms as well as mission support areas for sharing content from anywhere to anywhere.
The user interface was designed to create a seamless and consistent user experience between Mercury and custom spaces. We built an AV network powered by Extreme switching hardware to ensure the necessary robustness to handle mission critical operations.
The system was completed June of 2020 and the first mission to make use of the facilities is the Mars 2020 “Perseverance” Rover.
THE MISSION
On Feb. 18, 2021, Perseverance successfully landed in the Jezero Crater on Mars to begin its exploration of the Red Planet. You can read more about the Mars 2020 Mission at https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020
Cheering for Perseverance Landing | Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
A key objective for Perseverance's mission on Mars is astrobiology, including the search for signs of ancient microbial life. The rover will characterize the planet's geology and past climate, pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet, and be the first mission to collect and cache Martian rock and regolith.
The Mars 2020 mission is part of a larger program that includes missions to the Moon as a way to prepare for human exploration of the Red Planet.
- NASA/JPL-Caltech
Perseverance Rover's Team in the EDL War Room | Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech