Resources

Conferences

Lunar and Planetary Science Conference 2025

When: March 10-14, 2025
Where: The Woodlands, Texas / Virtual

Since its beginning in 1970, when it was called the Apollo 11 Lunar Science Conference, the conference has been a significant focal point for lunar and planetary science research. Over the years, it has grown tremendously, with over 2,000 planetary scientists and students who present their findings that provide new insights and a better understanding of the solar system.

LPSC features oral and poster presentations organized by topical symposia and problem-oriented sessions based on abstracts. Abstracts are submitted from a global scientific community. These abstracts are peer-reviewed, and selections for presentation are based on the overall relevance to the conference and the quality of the science. Special sessions and other events are scheduled throughout the week of the conference.

Source: Lunar and Planetary Science Conference

We encourage you to take a look at the special sessions that will be offered at LPSC 2025!

Registration is not yet available as of November 24, 2024. However, you can create an account with the LPI and submit an optional indication of interest by January 31 to receive updates on the conference.

Important Deadlines:

Lunar and Planetary Institute

A page listing various meetings held by the LPI (Lunar and Planetary Institute)

Hazards

Planetary Defense at NASA

Information on NASA programs related to identifying and mitigating the hazards posed by near-Earth objects (NEOs). Such programs include the Planetary Defense Coordination Office, which looks for dangerous NEOs, coordinates planetary defense with space agencies around the world, and funds asteroid deflection experiments.

Mining Firms

Karman+ Masterplan

The masterplan for Karman+, an asteroid mining firm. It provides an intriguing look into the challenges that the nascent asteroid mining industry is facing.

AstroForge

AstroForge is a space mining firm that is actively working on methods to extract platinum-group metals from asteroids.

Videos

MetaBallStudios visually compares the nuclei of the most well-known comets to New York City, which gives us a great way to understand their size. The video also shares with us some interesting facts about these comets.

Explore mineralogy at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County! This video shows how mineralogy is applicable to a wide variety of disciplines, including the study and exploration of the Solar System.

On July 25, 2024, a Ring doorbell camera recorded a small meteorite impact in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada, marking the first time a meteorite impact has ever been recorded with both video and audio. The sound of the impact is very clear, and the video is high-quality enough that the meteoroid is visible for a couple of frames before its collision with Earth. Scientists gathered the Charlottetown meteorite’s material from the impact site and determined it was an H5 chondrite.

This beautiful animation by Manuel Petitat depicts the landing sites of all confirmed meteorite impacts between 1500 and 2013. This includes both meteorite falls and finds. Interestingly, you may observe that these become more frequent closer to the present and are concentrated in certain regions of the world. This isn’t a property of meteorite impacts, but a result of the fact that the impact confirmation process is imperfect. For example, notice that there are no confirmed impacts in the Amazon Rainforest. This is because there aren’t many people keeping track of impacts there, and because meteorites wouldn’t last long there, not because the Amazon is inherently less likely to be impacted.

In this video, Geography Viz maps 200 impact craters around the world. He also highlights many standout craters, describing their formation and how they have shaped their environment.

Dr. Michelle Thompson at Purdue University discusses early discoveries from examining samples of asteroid Bennu. These were brought to Earth by the OSIRIS-REx mission on September 24, 2023.

CNBC gives an overview of the state of the asteroid mining industry and discusses its current challenges with TransAstra and AstroForge, two asteroid mining companies.

Websites

Some Meteorite Information

A blog run by Dr. Randy L. Korotev, a lunar geochemist and retired research professor at Washington University in St. Louis. Some Meteorite Information provides educational posts about meteorites and gives advice on how to identify them.

LPI Summer Intern Program in Planetary Science

An annual summer internship program run by the Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI). LPI interns build solid foundations for their careers by researching and learning about planetary science and connecting with experts in the field. Applications (including at least two letters of recommendation) are due by December 12, 2024, 11:59 PM CST.

Meteoritical Bulletin Database

A database of every discovered meteorite. Here, you can find information such as a meteorite’s name, its classification, and its location/year of discovery.

Sample Science with the Lunar and Planetary Institute

A program dedicated to furthering sample science at NASA.

Monnig Meteorite Gallery at TCU

A meteorite gallery at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas, featuring curated specimens from the Monnig Meteorite Collection.

U.S. Antarctic Meteorite Collection

Contains a listing of all meteorites in the U.S. Antarctic Meteorite Collection, as well as a guide explaining how to understand the information in the listing.

Antarctic Meteorite Newsletter

Publishes updates about the U.S. Antarctic Meteorite Collection, such as the addition of new samples to the collection or the reclassification of old samples already in the collection.

Antarctic Meteorite Classification Database

A searchable database of all the meteorites in the U.S. Antarctic Meteorite Collection.

Antarctic Meteorite Sample Requests

A webpage explaining how researchers may request to borrow Antarctic meteorite samples from NASA.

Lunar and Meteorite Sample Disk Program (K-12)

A program in which educators can borrow disks containing either lunar samples or meteorite samples from the Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science (ARES) Division at NASA.

Buseck Center for Meteorite Studies at ASU

A research institute at Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona, known for conducting prolific meteoritics research and hosting a renowned meteorite collection.

Extraterrestrial Materials Analysis Group (ExMAG)

A group dedicated to discussing and analyzing the collection, curation, and analysis of extraterrestrial samples.