Department News

Congratulations to the 2025 LPL recipients of seed grants from the Arizona Astrobiology Center! 

• Eleanor Cornish, Undergraduate Student (Astrobiology minor)
• Kayla Smith, Graduate Student (Planetary Sciences/LPL)
• Dr. Pierre Haenecour, Assistant Professor (LPL) 

The AABC Seed Grant program is an opportunity to foster creative, ambitious, and interdisciplinary scholarship and engagement in the expansive field of astrobiology. This initiative is uniquely inclusive, extending beyond the traditional confines of biological and space sciences. Researchers from the social sciences, arts, science education, and other diverse fields are invited to contribute their perspectives and expertise. The Center aims to nurture innovative, interdisciplinary research endeavors that deepen our understanding of life's origins, evolution, distribution, and future in the universe. This seed grant is a call to thinkers and explorers across all disciplines.

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By NASA Communications

How would humanity respond if we discovered an asteroid headed for Earth? 

NASA’s Planetary Defenders is a gripping documentary that delves into the high-stakes world of asteroid detection and planetary defense. Journey alongside a dedicated team of astronomers and scientists working tirelessly to track and monitor near-Earth asteroids, aiming to protect our planet from potential impacts. This documentary captures the intricate and collaborative efforts of these unsung heroes, blending cutting-edge science with personal stories to reveal the human spirit behind this critical global endeavor. Witness the drama, the challenges and the triumphs of those on the front lines of planetary defense.

Planetary Defenders focuses on the LPL Catalina Sky Survey and Spacewatch programs, both part of NASA's Planetary Defense Coordination Office which has a mission to find, track, and better understand asteroids and comets that could pose an impact hazard to Earth.

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Spacewatch researcher and LPL alumna Dr. Cassandra Lejoly is one of the many familiar LPL faces that appear in the documentary. During an interview in the film, Dr. Lejoly noted, "I really like that I am protecting the planet. And yes, I'm not the one that's with a cape pushing the asteroid away, that's not what I do. In some ways, my little contribution might not help just myself, but someone in the future, and I think it's very important to do that." 

Planetary Defenders can be streamed on NASA+ and YouTube and is available on NASA+ from Amazon Prime.

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Dora is majoring in Planetary Geosciences with minors in Astrobiology, Statistics and Data Science, and Leadership Studies and Practice. She chose the Astrobiology minor because of it’s interdisciplinary nature. She feels that this minor will give her the opportunity for a unique understanding about the the origins of life and the possibility of extraterrestrial life.

Dora especially enjoyed topics studied in MCB 437: Life in Extreme Environments, which covered extremophiles, planetary analogs, and biological concepts. She was encouraged by instructor Dr. Solange Duhamel to explore these topics through a final project about extremophiles that could live on Europa.

Dora plans to attend graduate school to pursue research related to Europa or Mars. She also wants to participate in fieldwork on planetary analog sites and intends to use her skills in data science when the Europa Clipper mission sends data back to Earth. Currently, Dora works as a NASA Arizona Space Grant intern advised by Dr. Sarah Sutton (LPL). Using HiRISE images and spatial visualization software (QGIS), she has located over 2,000 meter-sized, deeply shadowed pits that appear in the layered deposits of Mars’ north polar region. Dora is conducting a time series analysis of pits in specific areas to understand their possible formation mechanisms and seasonal changes. In addition to her internship, Dora also works as a student research technician making digital terrain models in the HiRISE Digital Terrain Model lab.

When Dora has some free time, she likes to play guitar, read history books, spend time with her family and friends, and participate in science outreach at local schools in Tucson.

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Sarah Nielsen is a Biology and Biochemistry major with minors in Planetary Sciences, Astrobiology, and Emergency Medical Services. Sarah chose Planetary Sciences as a minor because she has been interested in space since she was a child and the PTYS and ASTRB minors allow her to take advantage of the University of Arizona’s great space related curriculum while continuing her love of exploration and discovery.

Sarah’s favorite Planetary Sciences class has been PTYS 214: Life in the Cosmos taught by Dr. Dante Lauretta. She took this as her first planetary science class during her first semester at the U of A. Sarah wanted to take a class that captured her combined interdisciplinary interests in the Earth and life sciences. She enjoyed learning how a few of the “simple” elements (carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, and sulfur) on the periodic table can form complex planetary systems that potentially sustain an environment to harbor life. This class also demontrated to Sarah how planetary science can contribute to other fields, like astrobiology, in answering some of the biggest questions about the universe, including how the planets of our Solar System originated and evolved, and how planetary conditions can impact life.

Sarah is currently working with Dr. Lauretta through the NASA Arizona Space Grant internship program, on a project studying how deep-sea samples near the Lost City Hydrothermal Field at the Atlantis Massif can be used as an analog for hydrothermal processes on asteroid Bennu. Sarah is using the electron microprobe in the Kuiper-Arizona Laboratory of Astromaterials Analysis to do this work.

Sarah plans on applying to M.D. or M.D./Ph.D. programs when she graduates. She wants to stay connected with space missions and make advancements in planetary sciences and astrobiology while also pursuing medicine as a physician.

When she is not working on schoolwork or research, Sarah enjoys practicing archery with the Wildcat Archery team and also enjoys drawing and painting. She is an ambassador for the Arizona Astrobiology Center, an activity which allows her to communicate her passion for astrobiology to the Tucson community through outreach events and other center projects.

By Lori Huseby and Searra Foote

After a hiatus in 2024, the Kuiper Space Science building and the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory hosted the graduate student-led art show, The Art of Planetary Science (TAPS), over the weekend of February 21-23rd. Over 400 artists, scientists, and community members participated and visited the exhibit, where over 150 pieces of fine art, data art, theme art, and a special exhibit were displayed. This year’s theme was “50 Years of Mystery and Discovery on Mars.”

One special exhibit involved Imagination 1, a mission that took place at the Space Analog for the Moon and Mars, a high-fidelity center located at the University of Arizona’s Biosphere 2. An all-artist crew of four University of Arizona professional artists (a non-fiction writer, a dancer/choreographer, a poet and a textile artist) undertook a six-day simulated Moon mission, generating creative work shaped by the limitations and possibilities of life and culture beyond Earth. We were honored to provide them a space to showcase and present their work. In addition to this special exhibit, there were special events each day, including local bands Rubee and Daytrails, night and day telescopes provided by Professor of Practice Steve Kortenkamp and the Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association, respectively, and a burlesque show titled “Chiasm Cabaret” at Hotel Congress in downtown Tucson.

Visit the TAPS website for more information on the art show, including art show winners, photo gallery, and information about our upcoming 2026 show. Thank you to everyone who participated and visited the exhibit this year. We cannot wait to see you all again in February 2026 for the next TAPS art show!

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Dathon Golish is the recipient of the LPL Staff Excellence Award for 2025 in he category of Science/Engineering Staff.

Since joining LPL in 2013, Dathon Golish has been an indispensable member of multiple high-profile planetary science mission projects.

Dathon is the Mission Instrument and Observation Scientist for OSIRIS-APEX. His leadership with observation planning and calibration and development of detailed observation plans has been essential to the success of OSIRIS-APEX concept of operations development. Dathon is also the Systems and Integration & Test Lead for the SeisLEMS payload development on Artemis III’s Lunar Environment Monitoring Station (LEMS). He has stepped up to fill key gaps in system design, performance and environmental testing, and validation and his expertise has been instrumental in keeping the program on track, ensuring that this complex spaceflight instrument meets mission requirements while strengthening LPL's capacity to build cutting-edge planetary seismic instrumentation.

Dathon embodies the spirit of mentorship and professional development, guiding numerous undergraduate students in spaceflight hardware development, contributing to both LPL’s research excellence and the growth of the next generation of planetary scientists and engineers. His role as Deputy PI of CatSat, a student-led CubeSat mission, is just one example of how he has fostered hands-on learning opportunities.

This staff award recognizes Dathon for his leadership in spaceflight instrumentation, his technical expertise, deep institutional knowledge, and ability to work seamlessly across engineering and science teams that make it possible for LPL to execute complex, multi-year spaceflight missions. Moreover, we thank Dathon for stepping into additional roles when projects are short-staffed, for mentoring early-career scientists, and for developing methods that enhance mission capabilities.

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Ricardo Maciel
January 13, 2025 

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By Shane Byrne. Photos courtesy of Robin VanAuken, Joe Schools, and Reed Spurling.

This semester, the LPL field trip traveled to the Salton Sea in southern California. The Salton Sea is just the latest incarnation of large lakes that have existed there since the end of the last ice age and we were able to see all parts of the lake lifecycle.

We have lakes so often in this area due to the low-lying terrain of the Salton Trough. The famous San Andreas Fault splits into many minor branches in this area; kinks in these minor branches can cause pull-apart basins where the topography is low and the crust is thin. We saw plenty of evidence of this faulting in beheaded alluvial fans and steep mountain fronts. The thin crust also leads to copious geothermal activity (there are plenty of power plants there taking advantage of that). We visited recent volcanic domes and active mud volcanoes that indicate the shallowness of hot subsurface material.

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Because it’s a closed basin, the most-recent historic lake, Lake Cahuilla, dried up a few centuries ago. Tufa deposits that formed in the quiescent lakeshore environment on the hills surrounding the Salton Trough show the former shoreline and old lake sediment is blowing around in the form of sand dunes that we visited in the Algodones Dunefield among others. It’s still possible to dig up freshwater shells in the desert in this area.

There’s a much smaller (and shrinking) lake within the trough that is now called the Salton Sea. It was created in the early twentieth century when some careless canal construction accidently diverted the Colorado River (undammed at the time) into the Salton Trough. It took over a year to bring the fiasco under control and get the Colorado flowing back into the Gulf of California again. Eventually, the Southern Pacific Railroad stepped in to stem the flood by dedicating a significant fraction of all its rail traffic to dumping rocks into the breach. Although initially a wonderful resort location, the Salton Sea has become saline and extremely polluted from evaporation and agricultural runoff. Melancholy remnants of the Sea’s golden age are scattered around the shore, along with dead fish and an unwholesome smell. Many plans have been floated to keep the lake levels high and avoid exposing the toxic sediments on its bed, but a solution remains elusive.

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Support the LPL Graduate Field Trip by donating to the Wilkening-Sill endowment.  

Linae Larson

Linae is an Astronomy major with minors in Planetary Sciences, Astrobiology, and Chemistry. Linae chose Planetary Sciences as a minor because it complemented the Astrobiology minor. She enjoyed taking PTYS 411: Geology and Geophysics of the Solar System with Associate Professor Christopher Hamilton. The class focused on the diversity of processes that shape planetary surfaces, topics of interest to Linae, who didn’t have any prior experience with geology. She also appreciated that Dr. Hamilton was open to questions and could provide applications to the topic at hand. One of Linae’s in-class questions became the foundation of her Space Grant research project!

Linae plans to graduate in Spring 2026 and then pursue a Ph.D. in astronomy or planetary sciences. Her goal is to be a mission scientist on an astrobiology-focused mission such as Dragonfly, which is visiting Saturn's moon Titan in 2034. Linae is a Space Grant intern working with Dr. Christopher Hamilton on a new mechanism of ocean mixing for icy moons like Europa and Enceladus. The shockwave produced by asteroid impacts on icy moons could cause chunks of ice to fragment on the underside of the icy shell and be ejected into the ocean. This would cause ocean mixing that otherwise would not occur, affecting chemical abundances and habitability. She is using geophysics and finite-element modeling to explore the feasibility and consequences of this process. In addition, she is currently working with LPL Research Scientist Dr. Michael Phillips to use spectroscopy of Mars massifs, ancient mountains formed during giant impact events, to reveal the early history of Mars and its mantle overturn event. She uses GIS software to describe and highlight individual features and then creates scientific figures in Python.

When Linae is not doing homework or working on research, she enjoys hanging out with friends for movie nights or trivia. She also designs and builds dynamic LEGO models, like a rotating asteroid Bennu or flying Santa's reindeer. She also enjoys the challenge of playing competitive indoor power soccer in sports wheelchairs with her team the Minnesota Northern Lights at regional and national tournaments.