Lunar and Planetary Laboratory

Recently reported methane signatures detected by the James Webb Space Telescope could be a hint to it potentially harboring life, but University of Arizona researcher Sukrit Ranjan urges caution.

The spacecraft of the U of A-led OSIRIS-APEX mission performed a "slingshot" maneuver around Earth as part of its journey to catch up with its mission target, asteroid Apophis.

New analyses of the largest impact crater on the moon reveal unexpected insights into its tumultuous past. They also suggest that once astronauts return to the moon, they will have access to a veritable gold mine of scientific clues.

Three new papers reveal yet more secrets from samples collected by the University of Arizona-led OSIRIS-REx mission from asteroid Bennu.

Discovered only a week ago, comet 3I/ATLAS is only the third known visitor from outside the solar system. U of A astronomer Carson Fuls explains what makes the comet special – and why we can only guess where it came from.

A U of A-led study reveals a surprising way planetary cores formed. The findings could reshape how scientists understand the early evolution of rocky planets like Mars.

Billions of years ago, two icy worlds collided. Rather than destroying each other in a cosmic catastrophe, they spun together like a celestial snowman, finally separating but remaining forever linked in orbit. This is how Pluto and its largest moon, Charon, originated, a U of A study finds.

U of A scientists will participate in many aspects of NASA's Europa Clipper mission, which will orbit Jupiter and make 49 flybys of its moon Europa to study the moon's icy shell and help researchers better understand what lies beneath.

Every second, more than 3,000 stars are born in the visible universe. Many are surrounded by protoplanetary disks – swirling "pancakes" of hot gas and dust, from which planets form. U of A researchers have obtain detailed insights into the forces that shape protoplanetary disks.