Explore Planetary and
Solar Systems Science at LPL

Welcome to the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory

Small but Mighty: How UArizona Professors are Harnessing the Power of Algae to Capture Carbon

An astrobiologist, an engineer and an ecologist have teamed up to mitigate the worst effects of climate change.

The James Webb Space Telescope successfully launched the morning of Dec. 25 from the ELA-3 Launch Zone of Europe's Spaceport at the Guiana Space Centre in Kourou, French Guiana. NASA

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope Successfully Begins its Journey to Space

UArizona led the design and development of the Near-Infrared Camera onboard the James Webb Space Telescope. Once Webb has successfully unfolded and parked in its outpost past the moon, the UArizona instrument will align the telescope's 18 mirror segments and serve as the Webb's primary imager for at least the next 5 1/2 years.

OSIRIS-REx mission scientists thought sampling a piece of Bennu would be like a walk on the beach, but the surprisingly craggy surface proved to be more of a challenge. NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona

Highly Porous Rocks Responsible for Bennu's Surprisingly Craggy Surface

Using data from NASA OSIRIS-REx mission, a University of Arizona-led team of scientists concluded that asteroids with highly porous rocks, such as Bennu, should lack fine-grained material on their surfaces.

Upcoming Events

Monday, July 4, 2022

Fall 2022 Classes begin

Statement on Diversity

Science can succeed only if there is diversity—diversity of ideas, of perspectives, and of individuals. We at the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory (LPL) value diversity in all of its forms. LPL strives to address inherent problems that exist within planetary science, and academia in general. LPL is at the forefront of planetary and space sciences, and as such must stand as an ally to and in solidarity with its community members regardless of race, national origin, immigration status, ethnicity, sex, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, age, intellectual and physical ability, income, faith and non-faith perspectives, socio-economic class, political ideology, education, primary language, family status, military experience, cognitive style, and communication style, and with all people who intersect these groups. We strongly believe that the science and knowledge we pursue every day is a human pursuit strengthened through the participation of these historically minoritized groups.

For more information on the DLC and its members, visit the Department Life Committee page.

Research Focus Areas

Pursuing interdisciplinary research spanning the breadth and depth of planetary science.

Titan & Outer Solar System

LPL scientists are exploring Titan and the outer solar system.

Earth

Collecting information about Earth from space provides new information about how Earth systems work, how they are changing, and how humans might anticipate and respond to changes.

Solar & Heliospheric

LPL's Solar and Heliospheric Research Group studies the Sun’s atmosphere and magnetic field as it moves outward at supersonic speeds throughout the solar system until it encounters the local interstellar medium.

Planetary Analogs

LPL scientists investigate surface processes to understand the history of terrestrial bodies in the Solar System.

Spacecraft Missions and Instrumentation

Exploring the Universe as investigators on spacecraft mission and instrumentation teams.

HiRISE (MRO)

HiRISE, the high resolution imaging science experiment onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, is the most powerful camera ever sent to another planet.

OSIRIS-REx

LPL is home to the OSIRIS-REx mission, which made history for NASA when it tagged the surface of asteroid Bennu for 4.7 seconds, triggering a flush of nitrogen gas and collecting the largest sample of extraterrestrial material since the Apollo moon landings.

NEOWISE

NEOWISE is a NASA infrared-wavelength astronomical space telescope with the mission to identify and characterize the population of near-Earth objects. NEOWISE is also characterizing more distant populations of asteroids and comets to provide information about their sizes and compositions.

Hubble

Studying the cosmos for over a quarter century, the Hubble Space Telescope has made more than a million observations and changed our fundamental understanding of the universe.