LPL Spotlight Stories

At this pit on Mars, the steep slope at the northern edge (toward the top of the image) exposes a cross section of a thick sheet of underground water ice. The image is from the HiRISE camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, with an enhanced-color central swath between grayscale on each side. (Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UA/USGS)

Steep Slopes on Mars Reveal Structure of Buried Ice

By University Communications - January 12, 2018 Researchers using the University of Arizona-led HiRISE camera aboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance...
The UA's Dante Lauretta: "The work done on CAESAR will ensure that the UA continues to stand at the forefront of extraterrestrial sample analysis for the next 20 years."

UA in the Running for a New NASA Mission

By University Communications - December 21, 2017 NASA has chosen a planetary mission involving a team from the University of...
Undergraduate students from a class co-taught by Walt Harris and Vishnu Reddy at the RAPTORS observatory at LPL (Photo: Rachel Fernandes)

UA Students Participate in First Global Planetary Defense Exercise

By Emily Walla, NASA Space Grant Intern, University Communications - December 4, 2017 University of Arizona students recently took part...
This 2011 view near the top of the southern rim of Tivat Crater comes from the HiRISE camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. It shows the inner slope of a crater on southern Mars with several of the seasonal dark streaks called "recurrent slope lineae," or RSL. A November report interprets those as granular flows, rather than darkening due to flowing water. (Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UA/USGS)

Recurring Martian Streaks: Flowing Sand, Not Water?

Jet Propulsion Laboratory/Caltech and University Communications - Nov. 21, 2017 Dark features on Mars previously considered evidence for subsurface flowing...
A still from a simulation of asteroid 2016 HO3 in an orbit around Earth.

Earth's New Buddy Is Asteroid, Not Space Junk

By Daniel Stolte, University Communications and Vishnu Reddy,LPL - Oct. 17, 2017 Is it a bird? Is it a plane?...
On Sept. 22, at a distance of 105,600 miles, the OSIRIS-REx MapCam captured this color image of Earth. Dark "icicles" at the top of the image were caused by short exposure time.

Earth to OSIRIS-REx Cameras: I'm Ready for My Close-Up

University Communications - October 4, 2017 On Sept. 22, OSIRIS-REx soared under the South Pole, coming within 10,600 miles of...
This artist’s impression shows the binary asteroid 288P, located in the main asteroid belt between the planets Mars and Jupiter. The object is unique as it is a binary asteroid that also behaves like a comet. The cometlike properties are the result of water sublimation, caused by the heat of the sun. The orbit of the asteroids is marked by a blue ellipse. (Image: ESA/Hubble, L. Calçada)

Asteroid-Comet Is New Type of Object

By ESA/Hubble Space Telescope and Daniel Stolte, University Communications - Sept. 25, 2017 With the help of the NASA/ESA Hubble...
OSIRIS-REx is scheduled to arrive at Bennu, a primitive carbonaceous asteroid, in the fall of 2018. After surveying Bennu for two years, the spacecraft will extend its sampling arm to touch down on the asteroid's surface and collect a sample of pristine asteroid material.

OSIRIS-REx Swings by Earth

By Daniel Stolte, University Communications - September 20, 2017 As you are reading this, a spacecraft is coming right at...
NASA's Cassini spacecraft delivered this glorious view of Saturn on Dec. 18, 2012, taken while the spacecraft was in Saturn's shadow. The cameras were turned toward Saturn and the sun so that the planet and rings are backlit. (Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute)

After Farewell Kiss, Cassini Takes the Plunge

By Daniel Stolte, University Communications - September 13, 2017 When NASA's Cassini spacecraft careens to its final destination, the upper...
This composite image of the Crab Nebula was assembled with arbitrary color scaling by combining data from five telescopes spanning nearly the entire electromagnetic spectrum. (Image credits: NASA, ESA, NRAO/AUI/NSF and G. Dubner/University of Buenos Aires)

Stellar Corpse Sheds Light on Cosmic Rays

By Daniel Stolte, University Communications - September 4, 2017 The origin of cosmic rays, high-energy particles from outer space unceasingly...