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UA graduate student in geosciences Becki Beadling on a research vessel in teh Southern Ocean, deploying robotic floats that gather information for the SOCCOM project.

Ocean & Space

Learn about UA scientists in the Southern Ocean measuring climate change; and celebrating the past and future of space exploration at Spacefest X.

Astronaut Charles M. Duke Jr., lunar module pilot of the Apollo 16 lunar landing mission, is photographed collecting lunar samples at Station no. 1 during the first Apollo 16 extravehicular activity at the Descartes landing site. This picture, looking eastward, was taken by Astronaut John W. Young, commander. Duke is standing at the rim of Plum crater, which is 40 meters in diameter and 10 meters deep. The parked Lunar Roving Vehicle can be seen in the left background.

Geoff Notkin on the past - and future - of space exploration.

Also on Arizona Spotlight: Mexican rock stars sing out about immigration; and a party to celebrate the "The Queen of the Night" at Tohono Chul.

50 years later, moon rocks are still yielding secrets

A Tucson lunar researcher says samples from the moon helped shape understanding of planetary development.

Photo taken shortly before Apollo 11 landed on the moon's surface, July 20, 1969.

UA Special Collections opening lunar mapping exhibit

Hosting collection of rare documents and maps from university's moon researchers

Cassini's view on approach to Phoebe (left) and departure (right). The dark, roughly spherical object is roughly 16 times smaller than Earth's moon.

Saturn's rings, moons raise questions about solar system, water origins

A discovery could prompt a rethinking of how the solar system formed.

InSight's domed Wind and Thermal Shield covers its seismometer. The image was taken on the 110th Martian day, or sol, of the mission. The seismometer is called Seismic Experiment for Interior Structure, or SEIS.

NASA Announces First Detection of ‘Marsquake’

While scientists had picked up vibrations before, the recent detection was the first clearly coming from the planet.

Scientists Confirm Methane on Mars, Locate Possible Source

The authors also used geology and climate models to plot the gas's likely source.

OSIRIS-REx captured pictures of particles around Bennu earlier this year.

Space Scientists Look For Answers in OSIRIS-REx Photos

Particles and boulders pose new questions for planetary researchers.

The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft will attempt to sample soil from the surface of the asteroid Bennu.

Rocks On Bennu Create Bump for OSIRIS-REx Sample Search

The scientists have found more rocks than expected on the surface of the asteroid Bennu.

Image of the phases of a super blue blood moon, taken in northwest Tucson on Jan. 31, 2018.

Rare Lunar Eclipse-'Supermoon' to Create Striking Visual Experience

Unlike last year’s solar eclipse, Sunday's total lunar eclipse is visible to the naked eye - No eye protection needed

The far side of the moon as imaged by NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter.

UA Lunar Scientists Anticipate Discoveries From China Moon Mission

The unmanned Chinese craft executed the first-ever soft landing on the far side of the moon.

The first color image of Ultima Thule, captured at a distance of 85,000 miles. The image at right shows an overlay of the color image at left on the center image. Learn [more](http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/News-Center/News-Article.php?page=20190102).

UA Scientists View Historic Photos of Flyby at Edge of Solar System

The New Horizons spacecraft took the first photos of planetoid Ultima Thule.

Hartley 2, a Jupiter-family comet, was captured up close in this 2010 image.

Comets Catch the Eye of UA Planetary Scientists

The paths of Jupiter-family comets are twisted into tighter orbits around the sun by the gravity of that planet.

The Aurora Borealis dances over the U.S. Midwest Jan. 25, 2012, from the vantage point of the International Space Station.

UA-Backed Solar Wind Explorer Sending Back Data

The Parker Solar Probe has started to prove theories about solar wind first proposed in the '50s, a researcher says.

OSIRIS-REx completes a 26-month journey to the asteroid Bennu on Monday.

OSIRIS-REx is Arriving at Asteroid Bennu Monday

The UA-led mission will begin orbital operations after the spacecraft's initial journey of more than two years.

Portion of a NASA topographic shaded relief map of the surface of Mars created using the [Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter](https://attic.gsfc.nasa.gov/mola/images.html).

NASA Announces Mars 2020 Rover Landing Site

The 28-mile-wide Jezero crater, site of an ancient stream-fed lake, lies near Mars's equator.

More Planetary Science Stories