Founded in 1960 by astronomer Gerard Kuiper, the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory anchors planetary science at the University of Arizona. This place is also a graduate school, and one of the world’s largest programs dedicated exclusively to planetary science in a university setting. Founded in 1960 by astronomer Gerard Kuiper, LPL grew from Kuiper’s determination to study the Solar System when such work was unfashionable elsewhere.
Kuiper’s own legacy sits in the details you can almost feel here: the discoveries of Miranda and Nereid, the detection of carbon dioxide on Mars, the detection of methane on Titan, and his prediction of what we now call the Kuiper Belt. He came to Tucson seeking greater independence than he had at the University of Chicago, wanting to build a community devoted to solar system studies and to be closer to southern Arizona’s many potential sites for world-class observatories. The Laboratory’s historical papers are kept at the University of Arizona Special Collections Library.
Notice the discoveries Kuiper left behind — Miranda, Nereid, carbon dioxide on Mars, methane on Titan — and picture him eyeing sites like Kitt Peak National Observatory, founded in 1958.