LPL Spotlight Stories

Exploring A Desert Portal to Other Worlds

The merge between astronomy and geology, necessary to get humans to the moon, led to the birth of modern-day planetary science and a long history of field trips that continue to this day, enabling fledgling scientists to interpret data from far-off worlds without leaving Earth.

From Points of Light to Worlds: UA Explores the Solar System

A determined bunch of scientists set out to map the moon in preparation of the Apollo landings, but that was only the beginning. A new field of science blossomed, and UA scientists have been involved in nearly every U.S. space mission since.

Undergraduate Students at Work on OSIRIS-REx

When she’s not in class or training to qualify for next year’s Boston Marathon, you can find undergraduate Stephanie Stewart hard at work with her teammates on OSIRIS-REx, NASA’s first asteroid sample return mission.

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.