Space Sciences Laboratory (@ucbssl) header
Space Sciences Laboratory (@ucbssl) profile picture

The Space Sciences Laboratory (SSL) @UCBerkeley (UCB) is a preeminent university lab for space research and has participated in 50+ NASA missions since 1959.

Berkeley, CA
Joined May 2012
NASA's @escapade_mars mission is now studying Earth's magnetotail. PI @RobLillis describes this first ever visit to this distant region of the magnetosphere. Read more 👇 ssl.berkeley.edu/escapade-ma…
3
14
3
79
65,222
Space Sciences Laboratory retweeted
Reminder: Our Reddit AMA with UC Berkeley Space Sciences Laboratory (@ucbssl) starts tomorrow, Oct. 28 at 11:30am PT / 2:30pm ET. You can submit your questions now: bit.ly/4B6aBPL
NASA's ESCAPADE mission is headed to Mars next month — and a scientist, engineer and mission operator behind it are ready to answer your questions! 🛰️ Join UC Berkeley Space Sciences Laboratory (@ucbssl) for a Reddit AMA on Wednesday, Oct. 28 at 11:30am PT / 2:30pm ET at u/UCBerkeley! bit.ly/4B6aBPL
1
4
19
2,430
SSL affiliate Jessica Lu and David Weinberg of @OhioState have created collaboration of scientists — nearly a thousand and growing — to determine the most efficient way to digest over 1TB of daily data from the Nancy Grace Roman Telescope.
UC Berkeley researchers helped shape @NASA’s newest space telescope, the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, which will help resolve unanswered questions about dark energy, dark matter, exoplanets, galaxies and more. bit.ly/4yBQLth
1
4
246
Space Sciences Laboratory retweeted
Floor it! NASA’s Psyche spacecraft has fired up its thrusters and is accelerating to the metal-rich asteroid of the same name. Learn more about Psyche’s solar-powered propulsion system, which uses electromagnetic fields to steadily deliver thrust: go.nasa.gov/4jAR2bY
53
294
23
1,749
70,651
Space Sciences Laboratory retweeted
NASA's ESCAPADE mission is headed to Mars next month — and a scientist, engineer and mission operator behind it are ready to answer your questions! 🛰️ Join UC Berkeley Space Sciences Laboratory (@ucbssl) for a Reddit AMA on Wednesday, Oct. 28 at 11:30am PT / 2:30pm ET at u/UCBerkeley! bit.ly/4B6aBPL
4
10
2
26
6,990
Berkeley professor and SSL director from 1979-1985, Buford Price, collaborated with Francis Halzen on AMANDA (Antarctic Muon And Neutrino Detector Array). It later evolved into the IceCube experiment, which won Halzen the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physics.
UC Berkeley helped make IceCube a success — earning Francis Halzen the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physics. Berkeley physicist Buford Price was an early supporter of Halzen’s idea to detect high-energy neutrinos in Antarctic ice, helping turn the ambitious experiment into reality. bit.ly/47Kv7YA
2
8
455
SSL Associate Director for Planetary Science @RobLillis gave a talk on NASA's ESCAPADE and lessons for low-cost missions as part of our colloquium series. Watch the full talk here👇 youtu.be/74LOruHd1Uc
3
5
401
Space Sciences Laboratory retweeted
Check out these photos of @ucbssl engineers assembling COSI flight instrumentation in July 2026.
4
6
230
Thank you @AzizaS of @BerkeleyPhysics for stopping to tell us about entanglement as a resource for future instrument design. Looking forward to the arrival of space-based quantum systems at SSL!
2
141
Space Sciences Laboratory retweeted
A 10/10 view! 🪐 With Hubble, astronomers discovered a new "decagon" encircling Saturn's south pole. Scientists think this giant 10-sided atmospheric wave might be an entirely new type of phenomenon evolving on the gas giant: go.nasa.gov/4x1c728
67
810
71
4,716
416,054
Saturn’s famous northern hexagon has perplexed scientists since its discovery in 1980. Now researchers with SSL, NASA and the University of the Basque Country, have spotted a recently emerged decagon near Saturn's southern pole. 🪐🔭 ssl.berkeley.edu/decagon-wav…
1
5
2
12
8,021
Space Sciences Laboratory retweeted
LIVE: After @NASARoman's successful launch this morning, agency and mission leaders are sharing the latest updates and what's to come in Roman's journey. nitter.gq/i/broadcasts/1yJAPwndX…
129
531
44
3,369
1,419,218
Space Sciences Laboratory retweeted
Shades on and batteries charging! 😎 🔋 Roman’s Solar Array Sun Shield and Lower Instrument Sun Shade have successfully deployed, powering the observatory and shading its instruments! go.nasa.gov/4gw2rqc
182
1,667
121
13,267
1,006,559
The Solar Radio Burst Tracker project, hosted by @the_zooniverse, needs your help to identify solar radio bursts in Parker Solar Probe spectra. Click on the following link to learn more and volunteer. tinyurl.com/2mah93bp
1
2
218
Space Sciences Laboratory retweeted
High in the Berkeley hills, inside the Space Sciences Laboratory, @ltelkins picked up a model of the Psyche spacecraft. Then came that enormous smile. That smile tells you something about Lindy. She brings extraordinary curiosity and enthusiasm to everything she does, along with a graciousness that makes people feel welcome. She listens closely. She makes room for questions. She is an exceptional leader because she never loses sight of the human beings doing the work. Lindy is director of the Space Sciences Laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley, and principal investigator of NASA’s mission to 16 Psyche. The metal rich asteroid lies between Mars and Jupiter. It may contain material from the core of an early planetary body, giving us a chance to examine something we cannot reach inside Earth. More: explorers.com/lindy-elkins-t… @ucbssl @theNASEM @NASAJPL
1
3
1
27
4,063