Welcome to the latest edition of the LPL newsletter. More than usual, the last few months have been filled with transitions from a glorious past to a future we all hope will be at least as glorious.

For example, at a single celebration last May, we honored two key members of the OSIRIS-REx team who are retiring (including Peter Smith from LPL), celebrated a huge milestone for the mission (confirmation), and unveiled a portrait of the late Mike Drake, who led the proposals that resulted in the mission as well as directing LPL for 15 years.

We also have welcomed two new faculty members, Walt Harris and Travis Barman, as well as this year’s group of graduate students. These people are, obviously, the future of the laboratory.

But our future is intimately linked to our past. Former LPL director Laurel Wilkening has made a bequest that should fund the legendary LPL field trips for many future graduate students.

And we haven’t forgotten our past. The papers of LPL founder Gerard Kuiper, which are housed at Special Collections at the University of Arizona Library, have now been indexed, making them more available to interested historians. We are working with Special Collections on some other sets of papers from former LPL greats, and on finding ways to publicize and utilize the Kuiper collection.

Of course, we have the usual run of amazing science results. The fact that the stunning science that our faculty, staff, and students perform can be considered “usual” is a testament to the amazing people that have built, and continue to build, LPL.

Read and enjoy.