JUST IN: Texas A&M is preparing to challenge Caltech for control of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, potentially ending a management relationship that has lasted roughly 90 years. The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents has authorized the system to assemble a team and prepare a proposal to manage and operate JPL. NASA is opening management of the laboratory to competitive bidding for the first time in JPL’s history. Caltech founded JPL and has managed the laboratory since its creation. Its current contract runs through September 2028 and carries a maximum potential value of $30 billion if all options are exercised. JPL employs roughly 7,300 people and has led missions spanning Mars rovers, Voyager and some of NASA’s most important deep-space exploration programs. Texas A&M already co-manages Los Alamos National Laboratory and the Pantex nuclear weapons facility and is completing a $200 million Space Institute near NASA Johnson Space Center. NASA says the competition will take several years and will not disrupt current JPL missions.