LPL Spotlight Stories

Google Selects U of A for Quantum Research Group Focused on Life Sciences

LPL's Regents Professor Dante Lauretta leads the university's participation in an initiative announced by Google Quantum AI that will apply advanced quantum science and artificial intelligence to the life sciences to catalyze scientific discovery in these fields.

Seismometers Re-designed by U of A Will Measure Moonquakes During a Future Artemis Mission

LPL researchers developed seismometers for NASA’s Lunar Environment Monitoring Station to capture seismic activity at the moon’s South Pole and assess sites for future human exploration and infrastructure.

Drone Radar Reveals Buried Glaciers on Earth, Guiding the Search for Water on Mars

LPL Researchers launched drones equipped with ground-penetrating radar over debris-covered glaciers in Alaska and Wyoming that resemble buried ice deposits found on Mars.

Bear Down 100: Tagging an Asteroid

When it came time to actually land on asteroid Bennu and collect a sample, it took the scientific know-how and meticulous dedication found in University of Arizona LPL researchers to make that mission a reality.

Asteroid Bennu's Rugged Surface Baffled NASA. We Finally Know Why

In one of the biggest surprises of the OSIRIS-REx mission, its target asteroid, Bennu, turned out to be a jagged, rugged world covered in large boulders.

Bear Down 100: Mapping the Moon

By the time President John F. Kennedy announced in 1961 that the United States would land a man on the moon before the end of the decade, a small group of University of Arizona researchers were already studying the lunar surface. Their work would quickly become integral to the success of future robotic and Apollo missions.

Large Craters Offer Clues to the Origin of Asteroid 16 Psyche

Using computer simulations, researchers at the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory model the formation of giant impact basins, or craters, on 16 Psyche in preparation for the arrival of NASA's Psyche mission in 2029.

Jupiter’s Shape Redefined by the Juno Mission

A new study involving LPL Professor Emeritus William Hubbard updates our understanding of the shape of Jupiter.

Lunar & Planetary Lab Director Mark Marley Awarded Prestigious Lecar Prize

Endowed by the estate of astrophysicist Myron S. Lecar, the prize honors exceptional contributions to the study of extrasolar planets and theoretical astrophysics.

Kissing the Sun: U of A Researchers Unravel Mysteries of the Solar Wind

Using data collected by NASA's Parker Solar Probe during its closest approach to the sun, LPL Associate Professor Kris Klein and his research team measured the dynamics and ever-changing "shell" of hot gas from where the solar wind originates.