Kuiper, Sonett, and Drake buildings will remain locked until further notice.

Explore Planetary and
Solar Systems Science at LPL

Welcome to the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory

A team of researchers found a grain (inset image) encased in a meteorite that survived the formation of our solar system and analyzed it with instruments sensitive enough to identify single atoms in a sample. Measuring 1/25,000th of an inch, the carbon-rich graphite grain (red) revealed an embedded speck of oxygen-rich material (blue), two types of stardust that were thought could not form in the same nova eruption. (Image: Heather Roper/University of Arizona)

Upcoming Events

April 04, 2020 1:00pm

Virtual Memorial for Professor Adam P. Showman

May 06, 2020

Last day of classes

May 07, 2020

Reading day - no classes

May 25, 2020

Memorial Day - University Holiday

Research Focus Areas

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

Space Situational Awareness

Orbital space around our Earth is congested, contested and competitive. Our research group is actively working to ensure sustainable management of this valuable resource for future generations.

Cosmochemistry

Planetary Materials are those pieces of condensed matter that were leftover from the time that our solar system formed over...

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.

Theoretical Astrophysics

The Theoretical Astrophysics Program (TAP) is an interdisciplinary research program that includes the departments of Physics, Astronomy, Planetary Sciences, and Applied Mathematics, as well as the National Optical Astronomy Observatory.

Spacecraft Missions and Instrumentation

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

OSIRIS-REx

LPL is home to the OSIRIS-REx mission. OSIRIS-Rex arrived at asteroid Bennu in 2018; it has begun to survey and map Bennu, navigating in close proximity to the asteroid, and will ultimately touch the surface for five seconds to gather a sample of the asteroid.

HiRISE (MRO)

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

NEOSM

The Near-Earth Object Surveillance Mission (NEOSM), formerly called Near-Earth Object Camera (NEOCam) is a planned space-based infrared telescope designed to survey the Solar System for potentially hazardous asteroids.

Europa Clipper

Europa Clipper will perform repeated flybys of Jupiter’s moon and use a suite of instruments to investigate whether habitable environments could exist.