Lunar and Planetary Laboratory
The Lunar and Planetary Laboratory (LPL) is a research center for Planetary Sciences in Tucson , Arizona . It is also a graduate school and forms the Faculty of Planetology (Department of Planetary Sciences) of the University of Arizona . The LPL is one of the world's largest programs in the university environment that deals exclusively with planetology.
background
The LPL was founded in 1960 by the astronomer Gerard Peter Kuiper . Kuiper was a longtime pioneer in observing the solar system, and especially the moon, at a time when this was considered out of date by astronomers. His contributions included the discovery of the moons Miranda and Nereid , the detection of carbon dioxide on Mars and methane on titanium , and the prediction of the Kuiper Belt, later named after him .
Kuiper came to Tucson in search of greater independence than he had at the University of Chicago , attracted by the opportunity to build a community dedicated to the study of the solar system. He was also attracted by the proximity to the numerous promising sites in southern Arizona, which seemed suitable for the construction of outstanding observatories such as the Kitt Peak National Observatory founded in 1958 . The LPL was established under the auspices of the University of Arizona and Kuiper ran the facility as director until his death.
The LPL projects are truly interdisciplinary. The accumulated knowledge and techniques of astronomy , physics , chemistry , geology , geophysics , geochemistry , processes in the atmosphere and engineering are geared towards the study of planetary systems . Many students at the LPL have only dealt with one or the other discipline in detail, so a broad curriculum is inevitable.
In 1973 the university set up the Faculty of Planetary Sciences, which works continuously with the LPL. This measure provided the LPL with the administrative framework to take on a larger role in teaching . The chairman of the LPL is both dean of the faculty and director of the laboratory. The position is currently occupied by Timothy D. Swindle .
Space missions
The LPL has been involved in almost every interplanetary spacecraft that left Earth. Some of the most significant include:
- Phoenix Scout Mission - Mars - Responsible for the construction of the space probe and the scientific operation on Mars.
- Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter - Mars - Responsible for the construction and operation of the HiRISE camera with an aperture of 50 cm.
- Mars Global Surveyor - Mars - Dr. Alfred McEwen is a Scientific Member of the Mars Orbital Camera Team. Dr. Steve Bougher helped develop and test the braking system.
- Deep Space 2 - Mars - One of the scientists was provided by the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory.
- Mars Odyssey - Mars - Responsible for the construction and operation of the gamma ray spectrometer (GRS) .
- Pioneer 10 - Jupiter - Responsible for controlling the Imaging Photopolarimeter (IPP) .
- Pioneer 11 - Jupiter and Saturn - Responsible for controlling the Imaging Photopolarimeter (IPP) .
- Pioneer-Venus - Venus - Responsible for the control and calibration of the Large Probe Solar Flux Radiometer (LSFR).
- MESSENGER - Merkur - LPL scientists constructed the Mercury Atmospheric and Surface Composition Spectrometer (MASCS)
- Galileo - Jupiter Parts of the UV spectrometer were built at the LPL
- Cassini - Saturn - largest university contribution. Responsibility for the creation and evaluation of surface images from Titan and Enceladus
Astronomical observations
The laboratory is involved in the following programs:
- Spacewatch , a program for the detection of near-Earth asteroids
- at the Planetary Atmosphere Project , which measures the content of the atmospheres of different planets
- in the observation of occultations , whereby the planetary atmosphere can be analyzed by means of spectroscopy of a sun when it is covered by a planet
- Studies of the planet Mercury
- at the Catalina Sky Survey
as well as in interdisciplinary research areas such as theoretical astrophysics and space physics to find answers to questions such as: What actually is dark matter ?
Web links
- Official website (English)
Coordinates: 32 ° 13 ′ 55.2 ″ N , 110 ° 56 ′ 49.2 ″ W.