The USRA Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI) was established in 1968 as the Lunar Science Institute, and described by President Lyndon B. Johnson as "a center of research where scientists working in the sciences of space cooperate to profoundly affect the community's knowledge of the universe." Over the last 40 years, the Institute has evolved into a world-class scientific research organization at which a community of international scientists studies Earth and planetary science, meteoritics, astrobiology, geosciences, and space physics. In the tradition of Johnson's original charge, the Institute recruits a steady flow of national and international visiting scientists, postdoctoral fellows, students, and interns who bring unique scientific expertise and intellectual energy to create a dynamic environment that is the hallmark of the LPI.

The Institute is a center for lunar and planetary science, conducting research on the formation, evolution, and current state of the Moon, planets, comets, asteroids, satellites, cosmic dust, and our solar system as a whole through analysis of data and samples obtained through NASA's long history of missions and exploration. The Institute supports NASA and the planetary science community through the organization of workshops and conferences (including the annual Lunar and Planetary Science Conference), preparation of newsletters and monographs, maintenance of a regional space imagery facility, and web and meeting support for NASA's advisory community.

LPI's current planetary science projects include:

• Remote sensing of planetary surfaces
• Origins of life and the sedimentary record
• Experimental mineralogy and petrology
• Origin and evolution of planetary crusts, including volcanism, tectonism, and regolith development
• Geology and geochemistry of meteorites (including those from Mars)
• Growth and evolution of Venusian volcanic edifices subject to lithospheric flexure
• Dielectric measurements on asteroids and cometary analogs
• Nature and evolution of the Martian hydrosphere
• Radar subsurface mapping of the upper crust of Mars and Earth

Dr. Stephen Mackwell, Director of the LPI

Dr. Stephen Mackwell was appointed Director of the LPI in November 2002. Prior to this appointment, Dr. Mackwell served as Director of Bayerisches Geoinstitut in Germany. He received his Ph.D. in Geophysics from the Research School of Earth Sciences at the Australian National University, and his Master and Bachelor degrees from the University of Canterbury in New Zealand. Dr. Mackwell's research interests include laboratory-based research into the physical, chemical, and mechanical properties of geological materials under conditions relevant to the mantle and crust of Earth and other terrestrial planets.

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