Planetary Surfaces
About
Planetary surfaces are influenced by their interior processes (e.g. volcanoes), exterior effects (e.g. impact cratering) and their atmospheres (e.g. wind and rain) and so can be incredibly informative when it comes to figuring out a planet’s history. The decade from the mid-1960s to mid-1970s saw the exploration of much of the inner solar system with the photography of surfaces of the Moon (including its unseen far-side), Mercury and Mars. LPL’s previous work on telescopic mapping of the lunar surface had left it well prepared to play leading roles in most of these missions and the interpretation of the data they returned. In the following decades, LPL continued contributing to the study of planetary surfaces around the solar system with cameras aboard the Mars Pathfinder mission, the Huygens lander on Saturn’s moon Titan and the operation of the Phoenix lander on Mars. The study of these surfaces has also grown in sophistication and now includes analysis of surface composition from remote spacecraft as well as analysis of returned samples here in the laboratory.
Today at Mars, LPL is operating the HiRISE camera aboard Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, which takes higher resolution images than any camera to fly on a planetary mission. LPL was home to the VIMS instrument on the Cassini spacecraft, which took images in hundreds of different colors to allow the composition of the target to be determined. LPL faculty also have ongoing involvement in numerous other instruments and missions investigating planetary surfaces.
Planetary Surfaces Group Meetings
Terrestrial And Planetary Investigations and Reconnaissance (TAPIR)
TAPIR research themes include debris-covered glaciers, terrestrial glaciers and ice sheets, Mars polar studies, and geophysical instrumentation techniques.
Faculty
Planetary Surfaces Faculty
Jeffrey Andrews-Hanna
Associate Professor
Lunar Studies, Planetary Geophysics, Planetary Surfaces, Titan & Outer Solar SystemErik Asphaug
Professor
Lunar Studies, Planetary Analogs, Planetary Geophysics, Planetary Surfaces, Small Bodies, Theoretical Astrophysics, Titan & Outer Solar SystemVeronica Bray
Associate Research Professor
Lunar Studies, Planetary Analogs, Planetary SurfacesShane Byrne
Professor
Astrobiology, Planetary Analogs, Planetary Geophysics, Planetary Surfaces, Titan & Outer Solar SystemLynn Carter
Associate Professor, University Distinguished Scholar
Earth, Lunar Studies, Planetary Analogs, Planetary Geophysics, Planetary Surfaces, Titan & Outer Solar SystemDani Mendoza DellaGiustina
Assistant Professor, Deputy Principal Investigator, OSIRIS-REx, Principal Investigator, OSIRIS-APEX
Earth, Planetary Analogs, Planetary Geophysics, Planetary Surfaces, Small BodiesCaitlin Griffith
Professor Emeritus
Astrobiology, Exoplanets, Planetary Astronomy, Planetary Atmospheres, Planetary Formation and Evolution, Planetary Surfaces, Titan & Outer Solar SystemVirginia Gulick
Research Professor
Astrobiology, Planetary Analogs, Planetary SurfacesOther Researchers
Planetary Surfaces Researchers
Roberto Aguilar
PTYS Graduate Student
Planetary SurfacesNamya Baijal
PTYS Graduate Student
Planetary Geophysics, Planetary Surfaces, Small BodiesBrett Carr
Researcher/Scientist
Earth, Lunar Studies, Planetary Analogs, Planetary SurfacesRishi Chandra
PTYS Graduate Student
Earth, Lunar Studies, Planetary Analogs, Planetary Geophysics, Planetary Surfaces, Small BodiesMatthew Chojnacki
DCC Associate Research (McEwen)
Planetary Surfaces, Small BodiesClaire Cook
PTYS Graduate Student
Planetary Analogs, Planetary Geophysics, Planetary Surfaces, Titan & Outer Solar SystemMichael Daniel
PTYS Graduate Student
Earth, Planetary SurfacesAdeene Denton
Postdoctoral Research Associate
Planetary Geophysics, Planetary Surfaces, Small Bodies, Titan & Outer Solar SystemRuby Fulford
PTYS Graduate Student
Astrobiology, Planetary Geophysics, Planetary Surfaces, Small Bodies, Titan & Outer Solar SystemGabriel Gowman
PTYS Graduate Student
Planetary SurfacesNathan Hadland
PTYS Graduate Student
Astrobiology, Earth, Planetary Analogs, Planetary SurfacesOrion Hon
PTYS Graduate Student
Planetary SurfacesRowan Huang
PTYS Graduate Student
Planetary SurfacesRocio Jacobo Bojorquez
PTYS Graduate Student
Planetary SurfacesErich Karkoschka
Research Scientist/Senior Staff Scientist
Planetary Astronomy, Planetary Atmospheres, Planetary Surfaces, Titan & Outer Solar SystemKiana McFadden
PTYS Graduate Student
Planetary Surfaces, Small BodiesMackenzie Mills
PTYS Graduate Student
Planetary Analogs, Planetary Geophysics, Planetary Surfaces, Titan & Outer Solar SystemSamantha Moruzzi
PTYS Graduate Student
Planetary Analogs, Planetary Geophysics, Planetary Surfaces, Titan & Outer Solar SystemStefano Nerozzi
Postdoctoral Research Associate
Planetary Geophysics, Planetary SurfacesMichael Phillips
Researcher/Scientist
Astrobiology, Planetary Analogs, Planetary SurfacesAndrew Ryan
Researcher/Scientist, OSIRIS-REx
Planetary SurfacesStephen Schwartz
DCC Associate Staff Scientist (Asphaug)
Orbital Dynamics, Planetary Astronomy, Planetary Surfaces, Small Bodies, Space Situational Awareness