Using data gathered by NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) mission, scientists have explained how energetic particles penetrating lunar soil can create molecular hydrogen from water ice.
The Neutral Gas and Ion Mass Spectrometer, which will measure the composition of Mars' upper atmosphere, has been integrated into NASA's Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) spacecraft.
The Goddard-built MAVEN magnetometer will be a sensitive tool investigating what remains of the Red Planet’s magnetic "shield" and interactions with solar wind.
Scientists with the Dynamic Response of the Environment At the Moon (DREAM) team find that electrically charged dust can bounce back and forth between sunlit areas around a shadowed lunar crater.
The Planetary Magnetospheres Laboratory conducts research on solar system magnetic fields, solar system radio astronomy, and planetary dust, exosphere, and plasma environments. The Laboratory also develops new concepts for autonomous space research and operations through external partnerships.
Presently, the Laboratory is developing four in-house flight instruments for planetary, heliophysics, and military applications. Funded research includes investigations of the Sun (STEREO), Mercury(MESSENGER), Earth(RBSP), the Moon (NLSI, ETDP), Mars (MAVEn), Jupiter (Juno), and Saturn (Cassini).
Magnetometers developed at the Laboratory have flown to the Moon and every planet in the solar system at least once, and sometimes multiple times across different missions. Radio astronomy research targets the planets, the Sun, and their space environments and is partnered through international collaborations.
