Coronavirus Information

Until further notice, the University of Arizona, in accordance with the guidelines recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention encourages all employees to work remotely. Our offices in the Kuiper, Sonett, and Drake Buildings are closed to the public, but you can reach the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, Monday–Friday 8am-5pm, at 520-621-6963.

Explore Planetary and
Solar Systems Science at LPL

Welcome to the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory

Upcoming Events

August 01, 2020 1:00pm

Summer Science Saturday

August 24, 2020

Fall 2020 Classes Begin

September 07, 2020

Labor Day - University Holiday

September 25, 2020 5:00pm to September 27, 2020 5:00pm

The Art of Planetary Science

Research Focus Areas

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

Small Bodies

LPL scientists study asteroids, comets, and meteorites using groundbased observations, spacecraft missions, and modeling techniques.

Planetary Geophysics

At LPL, we use planetary geophysics to study the interior structure and dynamics of solid planetary bodies. Geophysical data provides...

Planetary Surfaces

Planetary surfaces are influenced by their interior processes (e.g. volcanoes), exterior effects (e.g. impact cratering) and their atmospheres (e.g. wind...

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.

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. 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.

Psyche

The Psyche mission, launching in 2022, is a journey to a unique metal asteroid orbiting the Sun between Mars and Jupiter. What makes the asteroid Psyche unique is that it appears to be the exposed nickel-iron core of an early planet, one of the building blocks of our solar system.

MSL

With its rover named Curiosity, Mars Science Laboratory mission is part of NASA's Mars Exploration Program , a long-term effort of robotic exploration of the red planet. Curiosity was designed to assess whether Mars ever had an environment able to support small life forms called microbes. In other words, its mission is to determine the planet's "habitability."