Solar System Exploration Division

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Apache Point Observatory

The Apache Point Lunar Laser Ranging Station utilizes the Astrophysical Research Consortium 3.5-meter telescope at the Apache Point Observatory in Sunspot, New Mexico. The large collecting area of the Apache Point 3.5 m diameter telescope, good atmospheric conditions at the site, and the efficient avalanche photodiode arrays used by the station result in a high-detection rate (even multiple detections per laser pulse) leading to millimeter-level range precision.

Key Staff
    Lunar Laser Ranging at Apache Point Observatory, credit Dan Long, APO
    Field Campaign

    Arctic Mars Analogue Svalbard Expedition (AMASE)

    AMASE has established Svalbard as a test bed for life-detection technology that will be used on future NASA and ESA 'Search for Life' mission to Mars.

    AMASE logo
    Data/Image

    Arecibo Legacy Data

    NSSDCA maintains the data archive of the planetary data collected by the Arecibo radar facility from 1997 to 2020.

    A black and white photo of the Arecibo Observatory
    Research Group

    Astrobiology Analytical Laboratory

    The Astrobiology Analytical Laboratory is dedicated to the study of organic compounds derived from Stardust and future sample return missions, meteorites, lab simulations of Mars, interstellar, proto-planetary, and cometary ices and grains, and instrument development.

    Key Staff
      Astrobiology Analytical Lab logo with asteroid and beakers
      Instrument

      Atmospheric Pressure Sounder

      The long-term goal of this activity is to demonstrate the feasibility of a laser sounder instrument capable of measuring the surface-pressure field for the entire air column from satellite-to-ground with global coverage. The earth's surface pressure is a vital component of a variety of important scientific measurements, which are being undertaken at Goddard. Accurate knowledge of the surface pressure can enable calibration of 2-D measurements of CO2 content in the atmosphere and greatly improve the fidelity of surface water redistribution measurements from time-varying gravity fields. It is also important in weather prediction and atmospheric modeling.

      NASA Meatball
      Instrument

      CO2 Boundary Layer Profiler

      The CO2 Boundary Layer Profiler is a ground-based prototype Differential Absorption Lidar. DIAL's measurement technique uses the change in signal strength between a wavelength strongly absorbed by CO2 and one not absorbed at all to make range resolved measurements of CO2.

      Profiler Specifications
      Flight Project

      CO2 Sounder (CO2 Sounder)

      NASA Goddard Space Flight Center has developed an integrated-path, differential absorption (IPDA) lidar approach to measure atmospheric column-averaged CO 2 mole fraction (XCO 2 ). This pulsed laser approach uses a step-locked laser diode source, a fiber laser amplifier, and a high-sensitivity detector. The approach allows measurements of CO 2 absorption and time-resolved laser backscatter profiles. These enable accurate estimates of XCO 2 and range to the Earth's surface and cloud tops under a wide variety of conditions, including darkness, at low sun angles, through broken cloud fields, and the presence of aerosols. The CO 2 Sounder lidar team has demonstrated airborne measurements during several campaigns over the past decade.

      CO2 Sounder lidar for the NASA ASCENDS mission
      Research Group

      Cosmic Ice Laboratory

      Our research group specializes in studying the spectra, the chemistry, and the physical properties of ices relevant to comets, icy satellites and planets, and the coatings of dust grains in the interstellar medium.

      Key Staff
        Europa
        Instrument

        Heterodyne Instrument for Planetary Wind And Composition (HIPWAC)

        Goddard's Heterodyne Instrument for Planetary Wind And Composition (HIPWAC) is used at ground-based facilities, often at the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility and the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan Subaru Telescope on the summit of Mauna Kea, Hawaii. With HIPWAC, scientists probe planetary atmospheres for chemical and dynamical information at exceptionally high spectral resolution. HIPWAC has made valuable observations of a variety of solar system bodies, including Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Titan, Neptune, and Venus.

        Key Staff
          illustration of telescope look up at planets
          Instrument

          High-power Laser and Amplifier Lidar Transmitters

          Fiber lasers and fiber-amplifiers are truly an enabling technology for NASA's space flight remote sensing applications. Fiber lasers and fiber-amplifiers are light, compact and efficient, however work is still required on power-scaling and pulse-energies for NASA-specific applications, such as altimetry and atmospheric spectroscopy. Fiber lasers and amplifiers offer numerous advantages for both near-term and future deployment on instruments on Earth Science Remote Sensing orbiting satellites.

          Lucent 10 W space-qualified erbium fiber amplifier
          Instrument

          Infrared Photon Detectors

          The Laser Remote Sensing Laboratory at NASA's GOddard Space flight Center is developing near-infrared photon-counting detectors for the CO2 sounders on ASCENDS and for multi-beam swath mapping laser altimeters for the Lidar Surface Topography (LIST) mission.

          NASA Meatball
          Flight Project

          James Webb Space Telescope (JWST)

          The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is a large space observatory that will operate in an orbit some 1 million miles from Earth. JWST will find the first galaxies that formed in the early universe, connecting the Big Bang to our own Milky Way Galaxy. It will also peer through dusty clouds to see stars forming planetary systems, connecting the Milky Way to our own solar System. Webb's instruments are designed to work primarily in the infrared range of the electromagnetic spectrum, with some capability in the visible range. The observatory was launched on Dec 25, 2021.

          Key Staff
            artist's conception of JWST in space
            Flight Project

            Juno

            The Juno spacecraft successfully entered the orbit of Jupiter on July 4, 2016. Its suite of instruments allow it, for the first time, to peer below the dense cover of clouds to answer questions about the gas giant and the origins of our solar system. Juno's primary goal is to reveal the story of Jupiter's formation and evolution. Using long-proven technologies on a spinning spacecraft placed in an elliptical polar orbit, Juno observes Jupiter's gravity and magnetic fields, atmospheric dynamics and composition, and evolution.

            Key Staff
            Instruments
            Artist depiction of Juno spacecraft in orbit about the planet Jupiter
            Instrument

            JUNOMAG

            The JUNO magnetic field's investigation will provide measurements of the Jovian magnetic field over a wide dynamic range. The fundamental objectives of this investigation are to map the magnetic field, determine the dynamics of Jupiter's interior, and determine the three-dimensional structure of the polar magnetosphere and its auroras. Juno was inserted into orbit around Jupiter on July 4, 2016.

            picture of Juno mission flying past Jupiter
            Instrument

            L'Ralph

            This instrument will investigate Jupiter’s Trojan asteroids, which are remnants from the early days of the solar system. The L’Ralph instrument suite will study this diverse group of bodies; Lucy will fly by six Trojans and one Main Belt asteroid — more than any other previous asteroid mission. L’Ralph will detect the Trojan asteroids’ chemical fingerprints. L’Ralph’s instrument suite contains the Multi-spectral Visible Imaging Camera (MVIC) and the Linear Etalon Imaging Spectral Array (LEISA), both of which are fed by the same optics, meaning that L’Ralph can observe both visible and infrared wavelengths.

            Key Staff
              Photo of the Ralph Instrument
              Flight Project

              Lucy

              Lucy will perform the first reconnaissance of the Jupiter Trojan asteroids, a large population of objects whose dark surfaces may be rich in organic materials. Trojans, which may have originated in the Kuiper belt, could hold vital clues to deciphering the history of the solar system. Lucy was launched in 2021. During its 12-year primary mission, Lucy will explore a record-breaking number of asteroids, flying by one main belt asteroid, and seven Trojans. No other space mission in history has been launched to as many different destinations in independent orbits around our Sun.

              Key Staff
              Instruments
               An artist’s conception of the Lucy spacecraft flying by the Trojan Eurybates - Credits: SwRI and SSL/Peter Rubin
              Data/Image

              Lunar Data Project (LDP)

              The Lunar Data Project was formed at the NSSDCA and now works with PDS to recover Apollo data, much of which is on old media or in obsolete formats, convert it into usable forms, and make it available online to researchers and mission planners. We are currently restoring data from surface and orbital instruments on Apollos 12, 14, 15, 16, and 17.

              John Young on first Apollo 16 moonwalk

              Lunar Environment and Dynamics for Exploration Research (LEADER)

              LEADER is a SSERVI project that explores the lunar environment and the two-way connection with human systems, providing the first ever studies of this Human-Environment interaction feedback cycle

              A circular graphic of the core research components, overlayed a still image of an astronaut on the moon

              Lunar Laser Ranging (LLR)

              Starting in July 1969, the Apollo and Lunaxhod programs deployed a variety of scientific experiments on the surface of the Moon. Among those devices were laser ranging retroreflectors, which, a generation later, still yield fundamental scientific data.

              Apollo 14 Lunar Laser Retroreflector Image next to Astronaut footprint in lunar soil.
              Flight Project

              Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO)

              The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) is an unmanned spacecraft designed to create a comprehensive atlas of the moon's physical features, radiation environment, temperatures, and resources. The mission places special emphasis on the moon's polar regions, where permanently shadowed craters may contain significant amounts of water ice that future human explorers might be able to exploit. LRO launched on June 18, 2009.

              Aritst's conception of LRO in orbit around the Moon