The Peanut Phenomenon

Propulsion Peanut Phenomenon

   As legend has it, the "Peanut Phenomenon"-- as well refer to it for the time being-- has been a ritual at NASA's JPL for nearly 50 years! The tradition began on July 28th 1964 during the Ranger 7 mission.

   During our visit to JPL last Friday, our class was delighted and inspired by the words of Dr. Randii Wesson, a navigator program engineer at the Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena. He did not speak much about the peanuts to our class but he did provide us the opportunity to sit inside the actual Mission Control Center and the Space-Flight Operations Facility. It was both an honor and a surprise to be allowed access into the very room where JPL staff members control, wait and watch all their hard work actualize in outer space.

   Upon entering the area, peanuts can be found on display in the foyer. We even got to sample some. In interviews, Randii describes that eating peanuts became tradition as result of the 7th high-stake ranger mission. Ranger missions are the send off and landing of robotic spacecrafts to the moon. The rangers take images on the way in and relay them back to the Space-Flight Operations Facility, says Randii. (Yes-- the very one we were sitting in!)

   Unfortunately, the first 6 ranger missions all failed. Congress was questioning whether or not to pull funding. Was JPL's capable of creating and operating a successful ranger mission. The first crafts would work in terms of flight but they were unable to capture and send images back to JPL. 

   During the 7th mission the tensions were extremely high. The mission manager passed around peanuts as means to distract and ease the anxiety; a lot was on the line. To the delight of all the personnel, Ranger 7 was a success! 

   During Ranger 7, 8, 9 and onward the peanuts were eaten ritually. Sure enough, all space crafts-- in conjunction with eating peanuts-- have completed their missions smoothly. Randii comments that they always eat shelled peanuts, leaving the brand unnamed; the Mission Manager makes the choice at the grocery store.

  All in all, it is not the brand that matters. Randii concludes, that when you have a 450 million dollar launch vehicle, a 1.5 billion dollar space craft, a 500-800 million dollar Huygens probe, a rocket booster that may or may not explode... the last thing you're concerned with is what brand of peanuts you are eating-- as long as they are there.

   From the 60's to the most recent landing of Curiosity on Mars, the peanuts are in play-- superstitious or not, they are a staple in JPL's past, present and future.