LPL Spotlight Stories

Three Years into Its Second Mission, OSIRIS-APEX Sets Its Sights on 2029

OSIRIS-APEX, the spacecraft that originally flew as OSIRIS-REx, is expected to reach the asteroid Apophis in late spring of 2029, but the team is already keeping the spacecraft busy.

Tenacity, Triumph and Discovery: Looking Back at OSIRIS-REx at Mission's End

September 30, 2026 marked the formal end of NASA's OSIRIS-REX mission. This was the United State's first ambitious attempt to collect a sample of an asteroid and return it to Earth, and it was led by the University of Arizona's Lunar and Planetary Laboratory.

Discovery Marks the First Detection of Variable Water Clouds Outside of Our Solar System

A Jupiter-sized world just 7.5 light-years away is cloudy, chemically complex, and, it turns out, more like home than anyone expected.

Soft and Stretchy or Rock Solid? New Modeling Study Sheds Light on How the Earth Got Its Moon

Historically, computer simulations modeling collisions between protoplanetary bodies have treated them largely as fluids. A new study suggests taking into account the material strength of solid bodies drastically changes outcomes.

Pandora Mission Begins Science Operations

Few space missions are run from university campuses. NASA's Pandora space has embarked on its mission to stare at worlds outside of our solar system and their host stars, all under the watchful eyes of a dedicated team at the U of A's own mission control center.

U of A Scientists Play Crucial Roles in Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope Science

The Launch of the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope takes place live Sunday on NASA Live.

Planet Formation is a 'Race Against Time,' According to New U of A Research

"Stunning" JWST images of newborn-solar systems shed light on how and when they lose gas, suggesting that planet formation is "a race against time," according to new research led by U of A graduate student Naman Bajaj.

U of A Begins Building Moon-bound EMILIA-3D to Study Lunar Terrain

The LPL-led EMILIA-3D is one of three recent science investigation payloads selected through NASA's PRISM SALSA program to study the lunar surface.

Prototype NASA Lunar Radar Instrument Makes History as the First Test Subject for U of A’s Giant Thermal Vacuum Chamber

SESAR-LITE, a radar instrument designed to search for water ice and map lunar subsurface terrain, has completed critical thermal vacuum and preliminary antenna testing at the U of A ahead of humanity's planned return to the moon.

U of A Space Science Ranks No. 1 Among Public Universities in Latest US News Global Ranking

The U of A ranked No. 1 among public U.S. universities in space science and No. 20 among all public U.S. universities overall in the 2026-2027 Best Global Universities ranking.