LPL Spotlight Stories
Newly Discovered 'Kiss and Capture' Mechanism Explains the Formation of Pluto and Its Largest Moon
By Niranjana Rajalakshmi, University Communications - January 6, 2025 Billions of years ago, in the frigid outer reaches of our
Study Sheds Light on Origin of Genetic Code
Nearly all living organisms use the same genetic code, the building blocks of life. A new study suggests conventional wisdom about how the code evolved is likely flawed.
U of A Projects Research Expenditures Surpassed $1B for FY 2024, Joining a Select Group of US Research Institutions
University Communications and Research, Innovation and Impact - December 17, 2024 Retrieving the largest asteroid sample ever brought to Earth
New 'Spectral Fingerprint' Atlas of Satellites Aims to Improve Space Security
LPL researchers have created the first astronomical equivalent of a fingerprint database for satellites, a critical first step toward easily identifying human-made objects in the increasingly crowded geostationary orbit.
U of A Scientists Have Their Eyes on Europa, Jupiter's Mysterious, Icy Moon
The largest spacecraft to ever explore the solar system, NASA's Europa Clipper, will orbit Jupiter and make 49 planned flybys of its moon Europa to study the moon's icy shell and help researchers better understand what lies beneath.
Winds of Change: James Webb Space Telescope Reveals Elusive Details in Young Star Systems
Planet-forming disks, maelstroms of gas and dust swirling around your stars, are nurseries that give rise to planetary systems, including our solar system. U of A astronomers have discovered new details of gas flows that sculpt those disks and shape them over time.
OSIRIS-REx, 1 Year Later: Asteroid Sample Continues to Provide Clues About Early Solar System and Origins of Life on Earth
It's been a year since NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft successfully delivered the largest-ever asteroid sample to Earth on Sept. 24, 2023.
Ali Bramson Receives Ronald Greeley Early Career Award
Dr. Ali Bramson, 2018 LPL Alum, receives 2024 Ronald Greeley Early Career Award in Planetary Sciences from the American Geophysical Union.
The Art of Planetary Science 2025
The Art of Planetary Science is an annual art exhibition run by the University of Arizona's Lunar and Planetary Laboratory. This year's theme - "50 Years of Discovery and Mystery on Mars".