Lunar and Planetary Laboratory

UArizona scientists took part in an international planetary defense exercise that used asteroid Apophis – a large, potentially hazardous asteroid – to test the planetary defense response chain.

Plasma is rare on Earth, but it fills the sky. To more deeply understand this state of matter that makes up 99% of the visible universe, NASA's HelioSwarm mission will deploy a "swarm" of spacecraft to gather data. UArizona assistant professor Kristopher Klein will serve as the mission's deputy principal investigator.

For weeks, UArizona students have been gathering data on a high-profile piece of space junk on a collision course with the moon. They've confirmed it's not a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket booster as previously believed.

The near-Earth asteroid Kamo`oalewa might actually be a fragment of our moon, according to a team of astronomers led by the University of Arizona. Kamo`oalewa is a quasi-satellite – a type of near-Earth asteroid that orbits the sun but remains relatively close to Earth.

Using data from NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission, a UArizona-led team of scientists concluded that asteroids with highly porous rocks, such as Bennu, should lack fine-grain material on their surfaces.

NASA and UArizona scientists were able to significantly reduce uncertainties about asteroid Bennu's orbit and determine the likelihood of the asteroid impacting Earth between now and the year 2300.

Scientists have long debated what is under the surface of Mars' south pole. A new study points to clays being more likely than a subsurface lake.

Infrared astronomy expert Amy Mainzer will lead NASA's NEO Surveyor mission to find, track and characterize yet unseen asteroids and comets that may pose a threat to Earth.