Fall

As our cover photo attests, a highlight of this semester was the planting of our second Moon Tree, a sweetgum grown from a seed that flew on the Artemis 1 mission around the Moon. Our original Moon Tree, a sycamore grown from a seed that flew aboard the Apollo 14 command module, has stood between the Kuiper building and Flandrau Science Center for about five decades. Since being planted, tens of thousands of students visiting Flandrau have gathered under the shade of the tree. Our own Dolores Hill is an expert on the Apollo Moon Trees (and reports that ours is the only remaining Arizona one). I asked her to submit LPL’s application for an Artemis tree and we are so grateful that she expertly led the entire process all the way through to planting. 

To both protect our young sapling and to provide a spot to enjoy the respite it will offer future visitors to campus, we are aiming to locate a high quality bench adjacent to the tree, with a plaque denoting the significance of the tree. We would be grateful for donations to support the cost of the bench and its installation. Donations can be made online with a designation for the LPL Gift Account with a note in the text box that the donation is for the Moon Tree bench. Abraham Lincoln said that “He who plants a tree, plants a hope.” I think that is particularly appropriate for this tree as we look to the future of LPL’s continuing involvement in lunar research.

Dr. James Keane (2017) was awarded a NASA Early Career Achievement Medal in recognition of early career achievement in the geodynamics of the Moon and icy worlds, and for championing the Endurance rover science concept in the planetary decadal survey.

James is a planetary scientist at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. He studies the interactions between orbital dynamics, rotational dynamics, and geologic processes on rocky and icy worlds using theoretical models and the analysis of spacecraft-derived datasets. These techniques facilitate his investigation of the dynamics, structure, origin, and evolution of solar system bodies. James has experience with NASA missions including GRAIL and New Horizons.

Dr. Keane is also an accomplished science illustrator and communicator.

Dr. Jamie Molaro (2015) won both the 2024 Sagan Medal and the 2024 Neibur Early Career Award. The Sagan Medal, awarded by the Division for Planetary Sciences of the American Astronomical Society, recognizes outstanding communication by a planetary scientist to the public. The Neibur Award is given by NASA’s Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute to an investigator within 10 years of their Ph.D. who has made significant contributions to the exploration science communities.

Jamie is a Research Scientist with the Planetary Science Institute. She is a former participating scientist on NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission and current member of the sample science team, as well as a co-investigator for Project ESPRESSO (Exploration Science Pathfinder Research for Enhancing Solar System Observations). She studies how heating and cooling breaks down rocks and boulders over time. Outreach and service are important parts of her career. She is the founder and the director of both The Art of Planetary Science, a public engagement effort to help people connect to science through art shows and workshops, and DAIS (Disabled for Accessibility In Space), a peer networking and support organization for Disabled scientists.

Dr. Ali Bramson (2018) is the recipient of the 2024 Greeley Award in Planetary Sciences from the American Geophysical Union. The award recognizes significant early-career contributions to the field of planetary science. 

Ali is an Assistant Professor in the Dept. of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences at Purdue University. She studies the quantitative geomorphology of other planets, especially the physical processes related to ice and volatiles that affect the surfaces of solid bodies in our solar system. She uses spacecraft remote sensing observations and theoretical modeling, supplemented by occasional field work at terrestrial analog sites and experimental studies. Her research on Martian mid-latitude ice is helping to shape the future of in situ resource utilization and human exploration of Mars.

A prominent impact crater on Mars has been named in honor of LPL alumna, Dr. Nadine Barlow (1958–2020). For her dissertation at LPL, Nadine mapped and categorized every impact crater on Mars visible in Viking Orbiter imaging above a threshold size. In her subsequent career, she made many advances in our understanding of Mars from this dataset and from later enhancements. Nadine was a professor at Northern Arizona University, a noted leader in the field of Mars crater studies, and a dedicated teacher and mentor to students and colleagues. Nadine’s contributions to education and planetary science have also been recognized with a display at the Astronomy Discovery Center at Lowell Observatory (Flagstaff).

This past summer, Professor John Moores completed a two-year term as the Science Advisor to the President of the Canadian Space Agency and became director of York University’s Earth and Space Science Program, which hosts 90 graduate students. He has recently (October 2024) published with co-author, Professor Jesse Rogerson, a popular science book titled, Daydreaming in the Solar System.

About the book, John writes, “Where Carl Sagan’s Cosmos sought to open a window onto the planets for a broad audience, we aim to pull the reader completely through the doorway. In science and story, we aim to immerse the reader in planetary environments and to communicate what it would feel like to actually be there on our neighbor worlds using the details we have learned from more than sixty two years of robotic space exploration. The book imagines an inclusive and optimistic view of the future of solar system planetary science. This vision is vividly explored with sixteen watercolor paintings and twenty six playful diagrams provided by illustrator, Michelle Parsons.

John continues, “In putting together this volume, I’ve been especially grateful for the broad knowledge base I developed as an LPL grad. I have appreciated the conversations with former classmates, other alumni and the entire extended LPL family over the past 16 years that have continued to deepen that understanding. I feel fortunate to be able to share our excitement and awe at exploring the solar system with the public.”