Lunar Studies

Lunar Studies

    Lunar research was one of the hallmarks of the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory in its first decade (the 1960s) as the United States prepared for the Apollo missions and LPL led the way in mapping possible landing sites. In the half-century since, the kinds of lunar research performed have changed, but the Moon is still an object of intense scrutiny. Our nearest neighbor in space lacks many of the processes occurring on the surface of Earth today, including the effects of wind, water and biology, so the rocks on its surface contain records of a much earlier era of Solar System history. On the other hand, because it lacks either an atmosphere or a strong internal magnetic field, its surface experiences effects that the Earth’s surface does not. Current LPL researchers study many different aspects of the Moon, including its composition, history, surface properties, magnetic field, interior structure, and even its tenuous atmosphere. Although the first studies were done with telescopes, we now have everything from the samples returned in the Apollo missions to modern spacecraft missions in orbit around the Moon. Read more about our history with lunar research.

    Lunar Studies Faculty

    Jeffrey Andrews-Hanna

    Lunar Studies, Planetary Geophysics, Planetary Surfaces, Titan & Outer Solar System

    Erik Asphaug

    Lunar Studies, Planetary Analogs, Planetary Geophysics, Planetary Surfaces, Small Bodies, Theoretical Astrophysics, Titan & Outer Solar System

    Jessica Barnes

    Cosmochemistry, Lunar Studies, Planetary Analogs

    William Boynton

    Astrobiology, Cosmochemistry, Lunar Studies, Small Bodies

    Veronica Bray

    Lunar Studies, Planetary Analogs, Planetary Surfaces

    Lynn Carter

    Earth, Lunar Studies, Planetary Analogs, Planetary Geophysics, Planetary Surfaces, Titan & Outer Solar System

    Christopher Hamilton

    Astrobiology, Earth, Lunar Studies, Photogrammetry, Planetary Analogs, Planetary Geophysics, Planetary Surfaces

    Lon Hood

    Earth, Lunar Studies, Planetary Geophysics

    Angela Marusiak

    Lunar Studies, Planetary Analogs, Planetary Geophysics, Small Bodies, Titan & Outer Solar System

    Isamu Matsuyama

    Astrobiology, Exoplanets, Lunar Studies, Planetary Formation and Evolution, Planetary Geophysics, Theoretical Astrophysics, Titan & Outer Solar System

    Alfred McEwen

    Astrobiology, Lunar Studies, Photogrammetry, Planetary Analogs, Planetary Geophysics, Planetary Surfaces

    Timothy Swindle

    Cosmochemistry, Lunar Studies, Small Bodies, Theoretical Astrophysics

    Lunar Studies Researchers

    Brett Carr

    Earth, Lunar Studies, Photogrammetry, Planetary Analogs, Planetary Surfaces

    Rishi Chandra

    Earth, Lunar Studies, Planetary Analogs, Planetary Geophysics, Planetary Surfaces, Small Bodies

    Sarah Sutton

    Earth, Lunar Studies, Photogrammetry, Planetary Analogs, Planetary Surfaces, Small Bodies

    Lunar Studies Support Staff

    Elana Alevy

    Cosmochemistry, Lunar Studies, Small Bodies