NASAโ€™s JPL Receives Billions to Begin Understanding Our Solar System

Samson Amore

Samson Amore is a reporter for dot.LA. He holds a degree in journalism from Emerson College. Send tips or pitches to samsonamore@dot.la and find him on Twitter @Samsonamore.

NASAโ€™s JPL Receives Billions to Begin Understanding Our Solar System
Evan Xie

NASAโ€™s footprint in California is growing as the agency prepares for Congress to approve its proposed 2024 budget.

The overall NASA budget swelled 6% from the prior year, JPL deputy director Larry James told dot.LA. He added he sees that as a continuation of the last two presidential administrationsโ€™ focus on modernizing and bolstering the nationโ€™s space program.

The money goes largely to existing NASA centers in California, including the Pasadena-based Jet Propulsion Laboratory run with Caltech, Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley and Armstrong Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base.

California remains a hotspot for NASA space activity and investment. In 2021, the agency estimated its economic output impact on the region to be around $15.2 billion. That was far more than its closest competing states, including Texas ($9.3 billion) and Maryland (roughly $8 billion). That same year, NASA reported it employed over 66,000 people in California.

โ€œIn general, Congress has been very supportiveโ€ of the JPL and NASAโ€™s missions, James said. โ€œItโ€™s generally bipartisan [and] supported by both sides of the aisle. In the last few years in general NASA has been able to have increased budgets.โ€

There are 41 current missions run by JPL and CalTech, and another 16 scheduled for the future. James added the new budget is โ€œan incredible support for all the missions we want to do.โ€

The public-private partnership between NASA and local space companies continues to evolve, and the increased budget could be a boon for LA-based developers. Numerous contractors for NASA (including CalTech, which runs the JPL), Boeing, Lockheed Martin, SpaceX and Northrop Grumman all stand to gain new contracts once the budget is finalized, partly because NASA simply needs the private industryโ€™s help to achieve all its goals.

James said that there was only one JPL mission that wasnโ€™t funded โ€“ a mission to send an orbital satellite to survey the surface and interior of Venus, called VERITAS.

NASA Employment and Output ImpactEvan Xie

The Moon and Mars

Much of the money earmarked in the proposed 2024 budget is for crewed missions. Overall, NASAโ€™s asking for $8 billion from Congress to fund lunar exploration missions. As part of this, the majority is earmarked for the upcoming Artemis mission, which aims to land a woman and person of color on the Moonโ€™s south pole.

While thereโ€™s a number of high-profile missions the JPL is working on that are focused on Mars, including Mars Sample Return project (which received $949 million in this proposed budget) and Ingenuity helicopter and Perseverance rover, JPL also received significant funding to study the Earthโ€™s climate and behavior.

JPL also got funding for several projects to map our universe. One is the SphereX Near Earth Objects surveyor mission, the goal of which is to use telescopes to โ€œmap the entire universe,โ€ James said, adding that the mission was fully funded.

International Space Station

NASAโ€™s also asking for more money to maintain the International Space Station (ISS), which houses a number of projects dedicated to better understanding the Earthโ€™s climate and behavior.

The agency requested roughly $1.3 billion to maintain the ISS. It also is increasing its investment in space flight support, in-space transportation and commercial development of low-earth orbit (LEO). โ€œThe ISS is an incredible platform for us,โ€ James said.

James added there are multiple missions outside or on board the ISS now taking data, including EMIT, which launched in July 2022. The EMIT mission studies arid dust sources on the planet using spectroscopy. It uses that data to remodel how mineral dust movement in North and South America might affect the Earthโ€™s temperature changes.

Another ISS mission JPL launched is called ECOSTRESS. The mission sent a thermal radiometer onto the space station in June 2018 to monitor how plants lose water through their leaves, with the goal of figuring out how the terrestrial biosphere reacts to changes in water availability. James said the plan is to โ€œtell you the kind of foliage health around the globeโ€ from space.

One other ISS project is called Cold Atom Lab. It is โ€œan incredible fundamental physics machine,โ€ James said, thatโ€™s run by โ€œthree Nobel Prize winners as principal investigators on the Space Station.โ€ Cold Atom Lab is a physics experiment geared toward figuring out how quantum phenomena behave in space by cooling atoms with lasers to just below absolute zero degrees.

In the long term, James was optimistic NASAโ€™s imaging projects could lead to more dramatic discoveries. Surveying the makeup of planetsโ€™ atmospheres is a project โ€œin the astrophysics domain weโ€™re very excited about,โ€ James said. He added that this imaging could lead to information about life on other planets, or, at the very least, an understanding of why theyโ€™re no longer habitable.

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Whatโ€™s New from Waymo ๐Ÿš—ย and Snapchat ๐Ÿ‘ป

๐Ÿ”ฆ Spotlight

Happy Friday, LA!

Image Source: Waymo

In case youโ€™ve been cooped up indoors or havenโ€™t had a chance to leave the office this week, you might have missed the latest buzzโ€”Waymoโ€™s self-driving cars are now cruising all over LA! Thatโ€™s rightโ€”Waymo One, the autonomous ride-hailing service, has officially expanded citywide, now covering nearly 80 square miles of Los Angeles. After months of testing and a waitlist, Angelenos can now book rides 24/7 in areas stretching from Santa Monica to Hollywood to the USC neighborhood. Early feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, with passengers rating the service 4.7/5. Riders are praising the smooth, safe experienceโ€”making it a game-changer for getting around the city, whether itโ€™s for work, errands, or leisure.

Image Source: Snap

Meanwhile, Snapchat is stepping up its game with new features in its Family Center designed to boost family safety and connectivity. Parents can now request their teens' live location on Snap Map, stay informed about their location-sharing settings, and set travel notifications to get alerts when family members arrive or depart from key locations like home or school. These updates give families more control and peace of mind in managing their digital interactions.


๐Ÿค Venture Deals

LA Companies

  • Camouflet, an AI-driven platform specializing in real-time pricing optimization, has raised a $3M Seed funding round from private investors to enhance its services. - learn more
  • Chaos Industries, a defense tech company specializing in advanced detection and monitoring systems, raised a $145M Series B funding round led by Accel to accelerate its development of critical national security technologies. - learn more
  • Radiant, a company specializing in advanced nuclear microreactors, raised a $100M Series C funding round led by DCVC. The funds will be used to complete the Kaleidos Development Unit and conduct testing at Idaho National Laboratory's DOME facility, aiming to bring factory-built microreactors to market. - learn more
  • Mundial Media, a company focused on contextual marketing for multicultural audiences, raised a $1.5M Pre-Seed extension round led by new and existing investors, with the funds aimed at advancing their Cadmus AI technology and expanding digital advertising offerings. - learn more

LA Venture Funds
  • Joyful Ventures participated in a seed funding round for Meatly, a UK-based company specializing in lab-grown pet food, though the exact amount raised has not been disclosed. - learn more
  • B Capital participated in a $200M Series C funding round for Writer, a full-stack generative AI platform that helps enterprises deploy secure and reliable AI solutions to address critical business challenges. - learn more
  • LFX Venture Partners participated in a US$30M Series C2 funding round for UniUni, a company transforming last-mile delivery for e-commerce through technology, and plans to use the capital to improve its platform and rapidly grow its operations. - learn more
  • Composition Capital participated in a $20M Series B funding round for Arbolus, an expert insights platform that connects investors and consultants with subject matter experts, to support Arbolus's expansion into the U.S. market - learn more
  • Type One Ventures co-led a Series A funding round for Lunar Outpost, a company specializing in lunar surface mobility, commercial space robotics, and space resources; the funds will support their active programs. - learn more
  • Trousdale Ventures participated in a $29M funding round for Starfish Space, a Seattle-based satellite servicing company that will use the funds to develop and launch its Otter spacecraft, designed to extend the operational life of satellites in geostationary orbit. - learn more
  • Plus Capital participated in a $20M Series A funding round for OneSkin, a San Francisco-based biotech company specializing in skin health treatments, with the funds aimed at expanding research, developing new formulas, and growing its presence in the anti-aging skincare industry. The company will also invest in its team and explore new sales channels. - learn more
  • Starshot Capital participated in a $10.5M Series A funding round for Ecolectro, a New York City-based green hydrogen company, to support the development of its scalable electrolyzer technology and make green hydrogen more accessible. - learn more
  • Navitas Capital participated in a $37M Series B funding round for SwiftConnect, a company that provides connected access solutions for buildings and spaces, to expand its network, scale operations, and support new product initiatives. - learn more
  • Griffin Gaming Partners led a โ‚ฌ17M Seed funding round for BIT ODD, a Finnish gaming studio focused on creating mobile games that prioritize creativity and emotional depth over finance-driven metrics. - learn more
  • The K Fund participated in a $20M funding round for Homethrive, a caregiving solutions platform, and the funds will be used to help expand its AI-driven care navigation, improve personalized support, and enhance digital tools to increase engagement across various payer populations. - learn more

        LA Exits

        • Farm Dog, a Los Angeles-based company that provides a platform with tools to help agronomists streamline their workโ€”offering features for field scouting, document management, and data integration to enhance productivity in agricultureโ€”has been acquired by FarmQA. - learn more

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                Wonder Dynamics: Redefining the Animation Landscape
                Wonder Animation

                ๐Ÿ”ฆ Spotlight

                Happy Friday, LA!

                Wonder Dynamics, a Los Angeles-based company founded by Tye Sheridan and Nikola Todorovic, has launched Wonder Animation, a beta feature that is poised to transform the landscape of video production. Acquired by Autodesk in May, Wonder Dynamics is leveraging this innovative tool, which harnesses artificial intelligence to turn standard video footage into captivating 3D animated scenes, making sophisticated animation techniques more accessible to filmmakers of all budgets.

                Wonder Animation allows creators to shoot from multiple angles, with the AI reconstructing these shots into a dynamic 3D space. This functionality enables filmmakers to seamlessly blend live-action scenes with interactive virtual environments while preserving original camera movements. Users can customize various aspects, including animations, characters, lighting, and camera tracking data, and the tool integrates smoothly with popular software like Maya, Blender, and Unreal Engine.

                What sets Wonder Animation apart is its emphasis on artistic control. Unlike many AI tools that impose rigid outcomes, this feature empowers creators to guide their projects, ensuring that their unique style remains front and center.

                As the boundary between video and 3D animation blurs, Wonder Animation invites creators to experiment and innovate in exciting ways. This development marks a significant step forward in digital storytelling, democratizing access to high-quality visual effects and making sophisticated animation achievable for a broader range of filmmakers.

                With the global animation market projected to reach approximately $400 billion in 2024 and grow to over $587 billion by 2030โ€”reflecting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of about 5%โ€”tools like Wonder Animation are more relevant than ever. This growth underscores the increasing demand for animated content and highlights the necessity of innovative solutions to meet filmmakersโ€™ evolving needs. For those looking to elevate their storytelling, Wonder Animation may just be the key to unlocking new creative horizons. According to Statista, this upward trend in the animation market emphasizes the significant opportunities ahead.


                ๐Ÿค Venture Deals

                LA Companies

                • Evite, an online platform enabling users to design, send, and manage digital invitations and eCards with tools for event organization and guest tracking, has received a strategic growth investment from Francisco Partners to accelerate innovation and expand its product offerings. - learn more
                LA Venture Funds
                • F4 Fund participated in a $4.1M Pre-Seed funding round for Further, a platform designed to help first-time homebuyers determine how much home they can afford by providing personalized insights on interest rates and lender requirements, giving users a clear view of their purchasing power. - learn more
                • Alexandria Venture Investments participated in a $10M Seed funding round for CrossBridge Bio, a company focused on developing advanced dual-payload antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) therapies, with the funds supporting preclinical development of its next-generation cancer treatments. - learn more
                • Clocktower Ventures participated in a $5.6M Series A funding round for Morada Uno, a startup in Mexico focused on making apartment rentals easier by providing a platform that connects tenants with landlords and simplifies processes like lease agreements and rent payments. - learn more
                • Skyview Capital participated in a $5M Series A funding round for Web3 chain game A-World, a tower defense battle game set in the metaverse on the BNB Chain, where players build hero towers to defeat waves of monsters. - learn more

                    LA Exits

                    • Drive Hospitality, a leading provider of personalized parking and hospitality services, including valet, concierge, bell services, parking management, and advanced technology integration, has been acquired by Propark Mobility. - learn more
                    • Vebu Labs, located in El Segundo and specializing in custom automation solutions for the food industryโ€”including the innovative 'Autocado' system that automates the peeling, coring, and scooping of avocados to enhance operational efficiencyโ€”will be acquired by Serve Robotics. - learn more

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                          Big Wins: Dodgers Take the Title โšพ, ChatGPT Levels Up๐Ÿš€

                          ๐Ÿ”ฆ Spotlight

                          Happy Friday, LA! Itโ€™s been a week of big wins, on and off the field. ๐ŸŽ‰

                          โšพ๏ธ First up, letโ€™s talk Dodgers. With a thrilling 7-6 comeback victory over the Yankees in Game 5, the Dodgers clinched their eighth World Series title, their first since 2020. The city is buzzing, and fans are ready to celebrate! A parade kicks off this morning at 11 a.m., starting at City Hall and winding down to Flower Street, with a ticketed celebration at Dodger Stadium for those wanting to keep the festivities going.

                          Image Source: Dodgers

                          ๐Ÿ’ป Meanwhile, in the tech, OpenAI just rolled out a game-changing update for ChatGPT. Plus and Enterprise users can now access real-time internet search, powered by Microsoft Bing, bringing ChatGPT's responses fully up-to-date. This means users can now ask about the latest news, hotspots, or recent LA startup announcements, and ChatGPT will pull in fresh, relevant answers directly from the web. Previously limited to information up to 2021, ChatGPTโ€™s new browsing capabilities make it a valuable digital assistant for anyone needing real-time insights in fast-paced industries like tech and entertainment.

                          Image Source: ChatGPT

                          ๐Ÿ” The real-time search feature also includes โ€œBrowse with Bing,โ€ allowing ChatGPT to source information from multiple sites for detailed answers to complex questions. Whether youโ€™re exploring the latest venture capital trends in LA or curious about the best local spots, ChatGPTโ€™s new browsing power helps you stay ahead with the latest info. This leap forward in AI functionality makes ChatGPT even more versatile and powerful for everyone, from business owners to everyday users.

                          From the Dodgersโ€™ World Series win to OpenAIโ€™s latest ChatGPT update, thereโ€™s a lot to celebrate in LA this week. Hereโ€™s to champions, innovation, and a city thatโ€™s always pushing boundaries. ๐ŸŒ†โœจ


                          ๐Ÿค Venture Deals

                          LA Companies

                          • Final Boss Sour, a Los Angeles-based gaming-themed snack company specializing in healthier sour snacks, has raised a $3M Seed funding round led by Science Inc. to expand its product offerings and operational capabilities. - learn more
                          LA Venture Funds
                          • Smash Capital led a $50M Series B round for Read AI, a productivity-focused AI company, bringing its total funding to $81M. The company offers a platform that enhances meeting efficiency through features like note-taking, summarization, and transcription. Additionally, Read AI introduced "Read AI for Gmail," a free Chrome extension that integrates information from various applications, reducing the need to switch between apps. The funds will be used to increase the company's headcount in engineering, data science, and business teams. - learn more
                          • Distributed Global participated in a $25M funding round for Nillion, a company that provides decentralized privacy solutions designed to secure sensitive data using advanced technologies like secure multi-party computation. - learn more
                          • Act One Ventures participated in a $5M Seed funding round for Latii, a construction materials supply chain startup, to enhance its platform that connects contractors with suppliers, aiming to streamline procurement processes and reduce costs in the construction industry. - learn more
                          • SmartGateVC participated in a pre-seed funding round for Ritual Dental, a company revolutionizing dental care by integrating advanced technology and microbiome science to provide personalized, preventive treatments. - learn more

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