When we say Cal is the premier educational institution in the world, we also mean “out of this world!”  The UC Berkeley Space Sciences Laboratory (SSL) shipped 5 spacecrafts to the Kennedy Space Center for the February 16, 2007 launch into outer space. Each probe container had the Cal script logo affixed on its outer cover. Daniele Meilhan with SSL contacted OMBO (previously OMMT) with the idea to “brand” the containers and we were pleased to provide her with the graphic for creating the decals. The five containers were used to transport five satellites from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The large decals allowed people across the country to see where the containers originated as they traveled to Florida. The probes were built by scientists at the University of California, Berkeley’s Space Sciences Laboratory (SSL) and Swales Aerospace. The probes will help determine the cause of the Earth’s magnetosphere sub storms which result in auroras, known as Northern and Southern lights.

Information about the launch and the mission can be found at NASA - THEMIS Mission Site and the press release from the UC Berkeley News Center is available from the Berkeley website. For THEMIS (The History of Events and Macrosale Interactions during Substorms) updates visit the THEMIS News & Events page.