The Lunar and Planetary Laboratory (LPL) is a research center for planetary science located in Tucson, Arizona. It is also a graduate school, constituting the Department of Planetary Sciences at the University of Arizona. LPL is one of the world's largest programs dedicated exclusively to planetary science in a university setting. It has a very high reputation in its field, and LPL scientists have played important roles in nearly every interplane...
more
The Lunar and Planetary Laboratory (LPL) is a research center for planetary science located in Tucson, Arizona. It is also a graduate school, constituting the Department of Planetary Sciences at the University of Arizona. LPL is one of the world's largest programs dedicated exclusively to planetary science in a university setting. It has a very high reputation in its field, and LPL scientists have played important roles in nearly every interplanetary mission to date, including missions from NASA, ESA, and even a few from the Russian Space Agency.
LPL was founded in 1960 by astronomer Gerard Kuiper. Kuiper had long been a pioneer in observing the solar system, especially the Moon, at a time when this was unfashionable among astronomers. Among his contributions are the discovery of Miranda and Nereid, the detection of carbon dioxide on Mars and of methane on Titan, and the prediction of the Kuiper Belt.
Kuiper came to Tucson looking for greater independence than he had enjoyed at the...
less
