LPL Spotlight Stories

How the UA Guided Men to the Moon

The maps and images created by a small UA team at the start of the space race opened the door for lunar and planetary exploration 50 years ago.
Apollo 17 astronaut Harrison “Jack” Schmitt stands next to a steep-walled crater named Shorty on Dec. 13, 1972. The UA's Jessica Barnes is among the scientists selected by NASA to be granted access to previously unopened samples, including some collected during NASA's last manned mission to the moon. (Photo: NASA)

Ion Beams and Atom Smashers: Secrets of Moon Rocks

Moon samples collected by the Apollo astronauts a half-century ago hold answers to questions that weren't even on scientists' minds at the time, as new technological tools provide insight into some of the oldest mysteries about the moon, the earth and the solar system.

Moon Maps, Lunar Origins and Everything Between

A theory for the origin of the moon germinated in the mind of a UA graduate student as he mapped the surface. The theory is still cited today as scientists continue to learn more about our celestial neighbor.

Dr. Laurel L. Wilkening, 1944 - 2019

Cosmochemist Laurel L. Wilkening (1944-2019) began her career at LPL in 1973, joining the faculty as an Associate Professor. Her
Gerard P. Kuiper founded the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory in 1960.

LPL Expertise Key in Mapping the Moon's Surface

Press Release, UA Communications - June 5, 2019 On July 20, 1969, the first humans stepped onto the moon completing

 The retreat of Mars' polar cap of frozen carbon dioxide during the spring and summer generates winds that drive the largest movements of sand dunes observed on the red planet. (Image: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona/USGS)

On Mars, Sands Shift to a Different Drum

In the most detailed analysis of how sands move around on Mars, a team of planetary scientists led by LPL found that processes not involved in controlling sand movement on Earth play major roles on Mars.
A giant of a moon appears before a giant of a planet. Titan, Saturn's largest moon, measures 3,200 miles (5,150 km) across and is larger than the planet Mercury. (Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute)

Researchers Find Ice Feature on Saturn’s Giant Moon

Rain, seas and a surface of eroding organic material can be found both on Earth and on Saturn’s largest moon, Titan. However, on Titan it is methane, not water, that fills the lakes with slushy raindrops.

 This view shows Saturn's northern hemisphere in 2016, as that part of the planet nears its northern hemisphere summer solstice in May 2017. (Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute)

What Deep Learning Reveals About Saturn’s Storms

A new technique allows researchers to dive deep into the ringed-giant's atmosphere to gain insights into Saturn's storms on a large-scale.
A team of researchers found a grain (inset image) encased in a meteorite that survived the formation of our solar system and analyzed it with instruments sensitive enough to identify single atoms in a sample. Measuring 1/25,000th of an inch, the carbon-rich graphite grain (red) revealed an embedded speck of oxygen-rich material (blue), two types of stardust that were thought could not form in the same nova eruption. (Image: Heather Roper/University of Arizona)

Ashes of a Dying Star Hold Clues about Solar System's Birth

A dust grain forged in a stellar explosion predating our solar system reveals new insights about how stars end their lives and seed the universe with the building blocks of new stars and planets.

 Powerful Particles and Tugging Tides May Affect Extraterrestrial Life

Powerful Particles and Tugging Tides May Affect Extraterrestrial Life

Two new studies by UA space scientists may bring into question the habitability of TRAPPIST-1 exoplanets, three of which are in the habitable zone of space.