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{{Short description|Research organization at the University of Colorado Boulder}}
{{Short description|Research organization at the University of Colorado Boulder}}
{{one source|date=March 2014}}
{{Use American English|date=September 2025}}
{{Use American English|date=March 2014}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2014}}


[[File:Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics logo.svg|frameless|right|alt=LASP logo]]
[[File:Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics logo.svg|frameless|right|alt=LASP logo]]


The '''Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics''' ('''LASP''') is a research organization at the [[University of Colorado Boulder]]. LASP is a research institute with over one hundred research scientists ranging in fields from solar influences, to Earth's and other planetary atmospherics processes, space weather, space plasma and dusty plasma physics. LASP has advanced technical capabilities specializing in designing, building, and operating spacecraft and spacecraft instruments.
The '''Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics''' ('''LASP''') is a [[research institute]] at the [[University of Colorado Boulder|University of Colorado, Boulder]]. Founded in 1948, LASP employs 750+ scientists, engineers, and students dedicated to [[space sciences|space science]] research in fields including solar physics, planetary atmospheres, dusty plasmas, geophysics, and space weather.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Jeremy |first1=Eggers |title=NASA, LASP Sign Agreement To Advance Space Weather Research, Modeling - NASA |url=https://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/goddard/nasa-lasp-sign-agreement-to-advance-space-weather-research-modeling/ |website=nasa.gov |publisher=NASA Wallops Flight Facility |access-date=3 September 2025 |date=5 August 2024}}</ref> The institute received over $1 billion in research revenue since 2013, predominantly from NASA contracts. LASP employs over 250 students and is the only academic institute to send [[spacecraft]] instruments to all 8 planets in the [[Solar System]]. LASP has also sent missions to [[Pluto]], the [[Sun]], and multiple planetary moons.<ref>{{cite web |title=University of Colorado Boulder FY 2023-2024 Operating Budget |url=https://www.boarddocs.com/co/cu/Board.nsf/files/CT3N9K5EC669/$file/Section%202%20-%20Boulder_FINAL.pdf |publisher=University of Colorado |access-date=3 September 2025}}</ref>
 
As of 2025, LASP has a yearly budget exceeding $200 million and manages or supports 26 active space missions.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Dean |first1=Cameron |title=Colorado university expecting cuts to its space program and partnerships with NASA |url=https://www.kktv.com/2025/06/27/colorado-university-expecting-cuts-its-space-program-partnerships-with-nasa/ |access-date=3 September 2025 |work=www.kktv.com |publisher=KKTV (Colorado Springs) |date=27 June 2025 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Current Missions |url=https://lasp.colorado.edu/our-legacy/missions/current-missions/ |website=Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics |access-date=4 September 2025}}</ref>


==History==
==History==
Founded after World War II, the first scientific instruments built at LASP were launched into space using captured German V-2 rockets. To this day LASP continues a suborbital rocket program through periodic calibration instrument flights from White Sands Missile Range. It was originally called the '''Upper Air Laboratory''', but changed to its current name in 1965. LASP has historical ties to [[Ball Aerospace & Technologies|Ball Aerospace Corporation]] and the Center for Astrophysics and Space Astronomy (CASA).
Founded after World War II, the first scientific instruments built at LASP were launched into space using captured German [[V-2 rocket|V-2 rockets]]. In 1963, the University of Colorado received $791,500 from NASA for the construction of a 25,000 square-foot building to study "ultraviolet physics, solar ultraviolet-radiation data from rockets, and the testing of solar-rocket pointing-control mechanisms".<ref>{{cite journal |title=Atmospheric and Space Physics Lab |journal=Physics Today |date=1 August 1963 |volume=16 |issue=8 |pages=67 |doi=10.1063/1.3051085 }}</ref> LASP maintains a suborbital rocket program through periodic calibration instrument flights from [[White Sands Missile Range]]. It was originally named the '''Upper Air Laboratory''', but changed to its current name in 1965. LASP has historical ties to [[Ball Aerospace & Technologies|Ball Aerospace Corporation]] and the Center for Astrophysics and Space Astronomy (CASA).  
 
The University of Colorado receives more NASA funding than any public university in the country, due in large part to LASP programs. Multiple companies have spun-off from research at LASP, including on electron beam dust mitigation for NASA.<ref>{{cite news |title=CU Boulder LASP researchers earn NASA prize to fund space dust technology |url=https://www.denverpost.com/2025/08/03/cuboulder-lasp-nasa-space-dust/ |access-date=3 September 2025 |work=The Denver Post |date=3 August 2025}}</ref>


==Facilities==
==Facilities==
Line 15: Line 18:
LASP has two main facilities located in the University of Colorado Boulder Research Park: the LASP Space Technology Research Center (LSTR) and Space Science (SPSC). Two additional facilities - Astrophysical Research Lab (ARL) and Space Learning Lab (SLL/NPL) - are also part of LASP.
LASP has two main facilities located in the University of Colorado Boulder Research Park: the LASP Space Technology Research Center (LSTR) and Space Science (SPSC). Two additional facilities - Astrophysical Research Lab (ARL) and Space Learning Lab (SLL/NPL) - are also part of LASP.


LASP's new facilities allow it to handle almost every aspect of [[space mission]]s, itself. Hardware facilities allow for the construction of single instruments or entire [[spacecraft]]. A Mission Operations Center allows for the control of spacecraft data collection, and a large research staff analyzes the data.
The facilities allow LASP to execute almost every aspect of [[space mission]]s. Hardware facilities and cleanrooms allow for the construction of single instruments or entire [[spacecraft]]. A Mission Operations Center allows for the control of spacecraft data collection, and a large research staff analyzes the data for science research.  


Being part of the University, LASP has heavy student involvement in every aspect of its operations, including science, hardware design / construction and mission operations.
As part of the university, LASP has heavy student involvement in every aspect of its operations, including science, hardware design, spacecraft integration, and mission operations. Graduate students regularly lead instrument development under the supervision of professors and scientists at the institute. Notable student-led instruments include the [[Venetia Burney Student Dust Counter]] on [[New Horizons]] and the [[Student Nitric Oxide Explorer]] (SNOE) as part of NASA's [[Explorers Program]].


==Satellites and instruments==
==List of Missions==
LASP supports the following spacecraft and instruments:
{| class="wikitable sortable"
* [[Galileo probe|Galileo]] ultraviolet spectrometer
! Launch
* [[Cassini-Huygens]] Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrograph (UVIS)
! End of Mission
* [[Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite]] (UARS) Solar/Stellar Irradiance Comparison Experiment (SOLSTICE)
! Instrument(s)/Experiment(s)
* [[Student Nitric Oxide Explorer]] (SNOE)
! Mission
* [[Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment]] (SORCE)
! Status
* [[Icesat|Ice, Cloud and Land Elevation Satellite]] (ICESat)
|-
* [[Quickscat|Quick Scatterometer Mission]] (QuikSCAT)
| 1967 || 1967 || Ultraviolet Photometer (UVP) || [[Mariner 5]] || style="background:lightblue;"|Complete
* [[TIMED (Thermosphere Ionosphere Mesosphere Energetics and Dynamics)]] Solar EUV Experiment (SEE)
|-
* [[MESSENGER]] (Mercury: Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry, Ranging) Mercury Atmospheric and Surface Composition Spectrometer (MASCS)
| 1969 || 1970 || Ultraviolet Spectrometer (UVS) || [[Mariner 6 and 7]] || style="background:lightblue;"|Complete
* [[New Horizons]] Student Dust Counter (SDC)
|-
* [[Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere]] (AIM)
| 1969 || 1975 || High-Resolution Ultraviolet Spectrometer (HR UVS); Solar Extreme Ultraviolet Monitor (SEUVM) || [[Orbiting Solar Observatory|OSO-5]] || style="background:lightblue;"|Complete
* [[Kepler Space Observatory]]
|-
* [[Solar Dynamics Observatory]] (SDO) EUV Variability Experiment (EVE)
| 1971 || 1972 || Ultraviolet Spectrometer (UVS) || [[Mariner 9]] || style="background:lightblue;"|Complete
* [[Glory (satellite)|Glory]] Total Irradiance Monitor (TIM)
|-
* [[Radiation Belt Storm Probes]] (RBSP) Relativistic Electron Proton Telescope (REPT)
| 1973 || 1978 || Ultraviolet Nitric-Oxide Experiment (UVNO)<ref>{{cite web |title=Press Kit - Atmosphere Explorer D |url=https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/19750025066/downloads/19750025066.pdf |publisher=NASA |access-date=4 September 2025}}</ref> || [[Explorer 51]] || style="background:lightblue;"|Complete
* [[Colorado Student Space Weather Experiment]] (CSSWE) CubeSat with REPT integrated little experiment (REPTile)  
|-
* [[Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer]] (LADEE) Lunar Dust Experiment (LDEX)
| 1975 || 1976 || Ultraviolet Nitric-Oxide Experiment (UVNO)<ref>{{cite web |last1=Cravens |first1=T. E. |last2=Gerard |first2=J.-C. |last3=Lecompte |first3=M. |last4=Stewart |first4=A. I. |last5=Rusch |first5=D. W. |title=The global distribution of nitric oxide in the thermosphere as determined by the Atmosphere Explorer D satellite |url=https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/19860025598 |website=Journal of Geophysical Research |language=en |date=1 October 1985}}</ref> || [[Explorer 54]] || style="background:lightblue;"|Complete
* [[MAVEN (NASA Mission)|MAVEN]] - Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN Mission
|-
* [[Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission]] - MMS
| 1975 || 1978 || High-Resolution Ultraviolet Spectrometer (HR UVS); Solar Extreme Ultraviolet Monitor (SEUVM) || [[Orbiting Solar Observatory|OSO-8]] || style="background:lightblue;"|Complete
* [[MinXSS|Miniature X-ray Solar Spectrometer]] (MinXSS) CubeSat
|-
* [[Total Solar Irradiance Calibration Transfer Experiment]] (TCTE)
| 1977 || — || [[Polarimeter|Photopolarimeter]] || [[Voyager 1]] || style="background:lightgreen;"|Active
* [[Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite|GOES-R]] Extreme Ultra Violet and X-Ray Irradiance Sensors <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2007/aug/HQ_C07038_GOES_R_contract.html |title=NASA Awards NOAA Goes-R Instrument Contract |access-date=23 August 2007 |last1=Thompson |first1=Tabatha |last2=O'Carroll |first2=Cynthia M. |last3=Leslie |first3=John |date=23 August 2007 |format=press release |publisher=[[NASA]]}}</ref>
|-
* [[Global-scale Observations of the Limb and Disk|Global-scale Observations of Limb and Disk]] (GOLD), a hosted payload on the [[SES-14]] TV satellite.<ref>{{cite press release |publisher=SES|date=May 23, 2017|url=https://www.ses.com/press-release/ses-14-integrates-nasa-ultraviolet-space-spectrograph|title=SES-14 Integrates NASA Ultraviolet Space Spectrograph| access-date = June 7, 2017}}</ref>
| 1977 || — || [[Polarimeter|Photopolarimeter]] || [[Voyager 2]] || style="background:lightgreen;"|Active
* [[Emirates Mars Mission|Hope]], Martian orbiter sponsored by the [[United Arab Emirates]]
|-
* [[Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe]] (IMAP) Interstellar Dust EXperiment (IDEX)
| 1978 || 1992 || Ultraviolet Spectrometer (UVS) || [[Pioneer Venus Orbiter]] || style="background:lightblue;"|Complete
|-
| 1981 || 1989 || Mission operations || [[Solar Mesosphere Explorer]] || style="background:lightblue;"|Complete
|-
| 1986 || 1986 || Ultraviolet Spectrometer (UVS) || [[STS-51-L]]; lost in the [[Space Shuttle Challenger disaster]] || style="background:lightyellow;"|Lost
|-
| 1989 || 2003 || Extreme Ultraviolet Spectrometer (EUV); Ultraviolet Spectrometer (UVS) || [[Galileo (spacecraft)|Galileo]] || style="background:lightblue;"|Complete
|-
| 1991 || 2005 || Solar Stellar Irradiance Comparison Experiment (SOLSTICE) || [[Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite]] || style="background:lightblue;"|Complete
|-
| 1996 || 1996 || High-Resolution Mapping Spectrometer (SVET) || [[Mars 96]] || style="background:lightyellow;"|Lost
|-
| 1996 || 1996 || Mechanics of Granular Materials (MGM-I) [[microgravity]] experiment<ref>{{cite web |last1=Alshibli |first1=Khalid A. |last2=Costes |first2=Nicholas C. |last3=Porter |first3=Ronald F. |title=Mechanics of Granular Materials (MGM) |url=https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/19970022141 |website=SPIE Proceedings Series |publisher=NASA |access-date=4 September 2025 |language=en |date=5 August 1996}}</ref> || [[STS-79]] || style="background:lightblue;"|Complete
|-
| 1996 || 2008 || Toroidal Imaging Mass-Angle Spectrograph (TIMAS) || [[Polar (satellite)]] || style="background:lightblue;"|Complete
|-
| 1997 || 2017 || Imaging Ultraviolet Spectrograph (IUVS)<ref>{{cite web |title=Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrograph (UVIS) - NASA Science |url=https://science.nasa.gov/mission/cassini/spacecraft/cassini-orbiter/ultraviolet-imaging-spectrograph/ |publisher=NASA |access-date=4 September 2025 |date=21 August 2018}}</ref> || [[Cassini-Huygens]] || style="background:lightblue;"|Complete
|-
| 1998 || 1998 || Impactor Box Systems (COLLIDE)<ref>{{cite web |last1=Colwell |first1=Joshua E. |title=COLLIDE: Collisions into Dust Experiment |url=https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/19990047385 |website=ntrs.nasa.gov |publisher=NASA Glenn Research Center |access-date=4 September 2025 |language=en |date=5 May 1999}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=COLLIDE |url=https://sciences.ucf.edu/physics/microgravity/collide/ |website=The Stephen W. Hawking Center for Microgravity Research and Education |publisher=University of Central Florida |language=en-us}}</ref> || [[STS-90]] || style="background:lightblue;"|Complete
|-
| 1998 || 1998 || Mechanics of Granular Materials (MGM-II) [[microgravity]] experiment || [[STS-89]] || style="background:lightblue;"|Complete
|-
| 1998 || 2003 || Solar X-ray Photometer (SXP); Auroral Photometer (AP); Ultraviolet Spectrometer (UVS) || [[Student Nitric Oxide Explorer]] || style="background:lightblue;"|Complete
|-
| 1999 || 2018 || Mission operations || [[QuikSCAT]] || style="background:lightblue;"|Complete
|-
| 2001 || 2001 || Impactor Box Systems (COLLIDE-2)<ref>{{cite web |title=COLLIDE |url=https://sciences.ucf.edu/physics/microgravity/collide/ |website=The Stephen W. Hawking Center for Microgravity Research and Education |publisher=University of Central Florida |language=en-us}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=E. |first1=Colwell, Joshua |title=COLLIDE-2: Collisions Into Dust Experiment-2 |url=https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/20020090253 |publisher=NASA Glenn Research Center |access-date=4 September 2025 |language=en |date=15 November 2002}}</ref> || [[STS-108]] || style="background:lightblue;"|Complete
|-
| 2001 || — || Solar EUV Experiment (SEE) || [[TIMED]] (Johns Hopkins APL) || style="background:lightgreen;"|Active
|-
| 2003 || 2010 || Mission operations || [[ICESat]] || style="background:lightblue;"|Complete
|-
| 2003 || 2003 || Mechanics of Granular Materials (MGM-III) [[microgravity]] experiment<ref>{{cite news |last1=Wayman |first1=Erin |title=Quirkiest Space Shuttle Science |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/quirkiest-space-shuttle-science-27108270/ |access-date=4 September 2025 |work=Smithsonian Magazine |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Sture |first1=Stein |last2=Alshibi |first2=Khalid |last3=Guynes |first3=Buddy |title=Mechanics of Granular Materials-3 (MGM-3) |url=https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/20030011404 |website=STS 107 Shuttle Press Kit: Providing 24/7 Space Science Research |publisher=NASA |language=en |date=16 December 2002}}</ref> || [[STS-107]]; lost in the [[Space Shuttle Columbia disaster]] || style="background:lightyellow;"|Lost
|-
| 2003 || 2020 || X-ray Ultraviolet Photometer System (XPS); Solar Stellar Irradiance Comparison Experiment (SOLSTICE); Spectral Irradiance Monitor (SIM); Total Irradiance Monitor (TIM); Mission operations || [[Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment|SORCE]] || style="background:lightblue;"|Complete
|-
| 2004 || 2015 || Mercury Atmospheric and Surface Composition Spectrometer (MASCS) || [[MESSENGER]] || style="background:lightblue;"|Complete
|-
| 2006 || — || [[Venetia Burney Student Dust Counter]] (VBSDC) || [[New Horizons]] || style="background:lightgreen;"|Active
|-
| 2007 || 2024 || Cosmic Dust Experiment (CDE); Cloud Imaging and Particle Size Experiment (CIPS) || [[Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere|Explorer 90]] || style="background:lightblue;"|Complete
|-
| 2007 || — || Digital Fields Board (DFB) || [[THEMIS]] || style="background:lightgreen;"|Active
|-
| 2009 || 2018 || Mission operations<ref>{{cite web |title=NASA’s Kepler planet-hunting mission, controlled by CU-Boulder students, to continue |url=https://connections.cu.edu/stories/nasa%E2%80%99s-kepler-planet-hunting-mission-controlled-cu-boulder-students-continue |website=CU Connections |access-date=4 September 2025 |language=en |date=11 April 2012}}</ref> || [[Kepler Space Telescope]] || style="background:lightblue;"|Complete
|-
| 2010 || — || Extreme Ultraviolet Variability Experiment (EVE) || [[Solar Dynamics Observatory]]; [[NASA Sounding Rocket Program]] || style="background:lightgreen;"|Active
|-
| 2011 || 2011 || Total Irradiance Monitor (TIM) || [[Glory (satellite)|Glory]] || style="background:lightyellow;"|Lost
|-
| 2012 || 2014 || Relativistic Electron and Proton Telescope integrated little experiment (REPTile)<ref>{{cite web |last1=Palo |first1=Scott |last2=Li |first2=Xinlin |last3=Gerhardt |first3=David |last4=Turner |first4=Drew |last5=Hoxie |first5=V. |last6=Kohnert |first6=Rick |last7=Batiste |first7=Susan |title=The Colorado Student Space Weather Experiment : A CubeSat for Space Physics |url=https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2010cosp...38..897P/abstract |website=38th COSPAR Scientific Assembly |publisher=Harvard University |access-date=4 September 2025 |pages=8 |language=en |date=2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=CU Students to Build Tiny Spacecraft to Observe ‘Space Weather’ Environment |url=https://spacenews.com/cu-students-to-build-tiny-spacecraft-to-observe-space-weather-environment/ |access-date=4 September 2025 |publisher=Space News |date=December 29, 2009}}</ref> || [[Colorado Student Space Weather Experiment|CSSWE (3U SmallSat)]] || style="background:lightblue;"|Complete
|-
| 2012 || 2019 || Relativistic Electron Proton Telescope (REPT); Digital Fields Board (DFB) || [[Van Allen Probes]] || style="background:lightblue;"|Complete
|-
| 2013 || 2014 || HyperSpectral Imager for Climate Science (HySICS)<ref>{{cite web |title=Reflected Solar Instrument – CLARREO Pathfinder |url=https://clarreo-pathfinder.larc.nasa.gov/reflected-solar-instrument/ |publisher=NASA |access-date=4 September 2025 |date=27 March 2024}}</ref> || [[High-altitude balloon|NASA high-altitude balloons]] || style="background:lightblue;"|Complete
|-
| 2013 || 2014 || Lunar Dust Experiment (LDEX) || [[Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer|LADEE]] || style="background:lightblue;"|Complete
|-
| 2013 || 2019 || Total Solar Irradiance Calibration Transfer Experiment (TCTE) || [[STPSat-3]] || style="background:lightblue;"|Complete
|-
| 2013 || — || Imaging Ultraviolet Spectrograph (IUVS); Extreme Ultraviolet Monitor (EUVM); Langmuir Probe (LPW) || [[MAVEN]] || style="background:lightgreen;"|Active
|-
| 2015 || — || Mission operations || [[Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission]] || style="background:lightgreen;"|Active
|-
| 2016 || — || Extreme ultraviolet and X-ray Irradiance Sensors (EXIS) || [[GOES-16]] || style="background:lightgreen;"|Active
|-
| 2017 || — || Spectral Irradiance Monitor (SIM); Total Irradiance Monitor (TIM) || TSIS-1 on the [[International Space Station]] || style="background:lightgreen;"|Active
|-
| 2018 || — || Global-scale Observations of the Limb and Disk Instrument || [[Global-scale Observations of the Limb and Disk|GOLD]] || style="background:lightgreen;"|Active
|-
| 2018 || — || Extreme ultraviolet and X-ray Irradiance Sensors (EXIS) || [[GOES-17]] || style="background:lightgreen;"|Active
|-
| 2018 || — || Digital Fields Board (DFB) || [[Parker Solar Probe]] || style="background:lightgreen;"|Active
|-
| 2018 || 2022 || Compact Spectral Irradiance Monitor (CSIM)<ref>{{cite web |title=Compact Spectral Irradiance Monitor |url=https://www.nist.gov/measuring-cosmos/compact-spectral-irradiance-monitor |website=NIST |language=en |date=8 October 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Home |url=https://lasp.colorado.edu/csim/ |website=CSIM |publisher=University of Colorado (LASP)}}</ref> || [[Small satellite|6U SmallSat]] || style="background:lightblue;"|Complete
|-
| 2020 || — || Emirates Mars Ultraviolet Spectrometer (EMUS); Emirates Exploration Imager (EXI) || [[Emirates Mars Mission]] || style="background:lightgreen;"|Active
|-
| 2020 || — || Reeldown Aerosol Cloud Humidity and Temperature Sensor (RACHuTS); Fiberoptic Laser Operated Temperature Sensor (FLOATS); LASP Particle Counter (LPC)<ref>{{cite web |title=Ballons {{!}} CNES |url=https://cnes.fr/projets/ballons |website=cnes.fr |publisher=Centre national d'études spatiales |access-date=4 September 2025 |language=fr}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=STRATEOLE-2 US – Long-duration balloon flights at the tropical tropopause |url=https://strat2.org/ |access-date=4 September 2025}}</ref> || Strateole-2 (20 [[CNES]] [[high-altitude balloons]]) || style="background:lightgreen;"|Active
|-
| 2021 || — || Near-ultraviolet (NUV) transmission spectrometer || [[Colorado Ultraviolet Transit Experiment]] || style="background:lightgreen;"|Active
|-
| 2021 || — || Mission operations || [[Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer|IXPE]] || style="background:lightgreen;"|Active
|-
| 2022 || — || Dual-channel Extreme Ultraviolet Continuum Experiment (DEUCE) || [[NASA Sounding Rocket Program]] || style="background:lightgreen;"|Active
|-
| 2022 || — || Dual Aperture X-Ray Solar Spectrometer (DAXSS) || INSPIRESat-1 || style="background:lightgreen;"|Active
|-
| 2022 || — || Extreme ultraviolet and X-ray Irradiance Sensors (EXIS) || [[GOES-18]] || style="background:lightgreen;"|Active
|-
| 2022 || — || Suborbital Imaging Spectrograph for Transition region Irradiance from Nearby Exoplanet (SISTINE) || [[NASA Sounding Rocket Program]] || style="background:lightgreen;"|Active
|-
| 2022 || — || Compact Total Irradiance Monitor (CTIM)<ref>{{cite web |title=CTIM |url=https://esto.nasa.gov/invest/ctim/ |website=NASA Earth Science and Technology Office |publisher=NASA}}</ref> || [[Small satellite|6U SmallSat]] || style="background:lightgreen;"|Active
|-
| 2023 || — || Occultation Wave Limb Sounder (OWLS) || INSPIRESat-3 || style="background:lightgreen;"|Active
|-
| 2023 || — || Relativistic Electron and Proton Telescope integrated little experiment (REPTile) || [[Colorado Inner Radiation Belt Experiment]] || style="background:lightgreen;"|Active
|-
| 2024 || — || Extreme ultraviolet and X-ray Irradiance Sensors (EXIS) || [[GOES-19]] || style="background:lightgreen;"|Active
|-
| 2024 || — || Surface Dust Analyzer (SUDA) || [[Europa Clipper]] || style="background:lightgreen;"|Active
|-
| September 2025 || — || Interstellar Dust Experiment (IDEX) || [[Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe|Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP)]] || style="background:#D3D3D3;"|Planned
|-
| October 2025 || — || Ultraviolet telescope || Supernova remnants and Proxies for ReIonization Testbed Experiment (SPRITE) (12U [[Small satellite|SmallSat]]) || style="background:#D3D3D3;"|Planned
|-
| December 2025 || — || Total Irradiance Monitor (TIM); Spectral Irradiance Monitor (SIM) || Total and Spectral Solar Irradiance Sensor–2 (TSIS-2) ([[Small satellite|SmallSat]]) || style="background:#D3D3D3;"|Planned
|-
| December 2025 || — || Dual Solar Position Sensor (SPS) || Sun Coronal Ejection Tracker (SunCET) (6U [[Small satellite|SmallSat]], Johns Hopkins APL) || style="background:#D3D3D3;"|Planned
|-
| February 2026 || — || Acute Precipitating Electron Spectrometer (APES); Proton eLectron Advanced Sensor for M-I Coupling (PLASMIC); Ionization Gauge (IG); Cross Track Wind Sensor (CTWS); Rapid Active Plasma Sounder (RAPS) || COUSIN [[Sounding Rocket]] || style="background:#D3D3D3;"|Planned
|-
| 2026 || — || 3-axis search [[loop antenna|coil antenna]]; 2-axis [[dipole antenna]] || Climatology of Anthropogenic and Natural VLF wave Activity in Space (CANVAS) || style="background:#D3D3D3;"|Planned
|-
| 2026 || — || AXIS (Atmospheric X-ray Imaging Spectrometer) || Atmosphere Effects of Precipitation through Energetic X-rays (AEPEX) (6U [[Small satellite|SmallSat]]) || style="background:#D3D3D3;"|Planned
|-
| 2026 || — || Far ultraviolet integral field spectrograph (IFS) || Integral Field Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Experiment (INFUSE) [[Sounding Rocket]] || style="background:#D3D3D3;"|Planned
|-
| 2026 || — || Chromosphere spectrograph || Solar eruptioN Integral Field Spectrograph (SNIFS) [[Sounding Rocket]] || style="background:#D3D3D3;"|Planned
|-
| 2026 || — || Lunar Surface Electromagnetics Experiment (LuSEE) || [[Artemis 2|Artemis II]] || style="background:#D3D3D3;"|Planned
|}


==See also==
==See also==
Line 51: Line 175:
* [[National Center for Atmospheric Research]] (NCAR)
* [[National Center for Atmospheric Research]] (NCAR)
* [[IDL (programming language)]]
* [[IDL (programming language)]]
* [[Explorers Program|NASA Explorers Program]]
* [[Space Sciences Laboratory]]
* [[Jet Propulsion Laboratory]]


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Latest revision as of 13:18, 7 September 2025

Template:Short description Template:Use American English Template:Use mdy dates

LASP logo

The Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) is a research institute at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Founded in 1948, LASP employs 750+ scientists, engineers, and students dedicated to space science research in fields including solar physics, planetary atmospheres, dusty plasmas, geophysics, and space weather.[1] The institute received over $1 billion in research revenue since 2013, predominantly from NASA contracts. LASP employs over 250 students and is the only academic institute to send spacecraft instruments to all 8 planets in the Solar System. LASP has also sent missions to Pluto, the Sun, and multiple planetary moons.[2]

As of 2025, LASP has a yearly budget exceeding $200 million and manages or supports 26 active space missions.[3][4]

History

Founded after World War II, the first scientific instruments built at LASP were launched into space using captured German V-2 rockets. In 1963, the University of Colorado received $791,500 from NASA for the construction of a 25,000 square-foot building to study "ultraviolet physics, solar ultraviolet-radiation data from rockets, and the testing of solar-rocket pointing-control mechanisms".[5] LASP maintains a suborbital rocket program through periodic calibration instrument flights from White Sands Missile Range. It was originally named the Upper Air Laboratory, but changed to its current name in 1965. LASP has historical ties to Ball Aerospace Corporation and the Center for Astrophysics and Space Astronomy (CASA).

The University of Colorado receives more NASA funding than any public university in the country, due in large part to LASP programs. Multiple companies have spun-off from research at LASP, including on electron beam dust mitigation for NASA.[6]

Facilities

File:Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics.jpg
The LASP Space Technology Research Center (LSTR) on campus at CU Boulder

LASP has two main facilities located in the University of Colorado Boulder Research Park: the LASP Space Technology Research Center (LSTR) and Space Science (SPSC). Two additional facilities - Astrophysical Research Lab (ARL) and Space Learning Lab (SLL/NPL) - are also part of LASP.

The facilities allow LASP to execute almost every aspect of space missions. Hardware facilities and cleanrooms allow for the construction of single instruments or entire spacecraft. A Mission Operations Center allows for the control of spacecraft data collection, and a large research staff analyzes the data for science research.

As part of the university, LASP has heavy student involvement in every aspect of its operations, including science, hardware design, spacecraft integration, and mission operations. Graduate students regularly lead instrument development under the supervision of professors and scientists at the institute. Notable student-led instruments include the Venetia Burney Student Dust Counter on New Horizons and the Student Nitric Oxide Explorer (SNOE) as part of NASA's Explorers Program.

List of Missions

Launch End of Mission Instrument(s)/Experiment(s) Mission Status
1967 1967 Ultraviolet Photometer (UVP) Mariner 5 Complete
1969 1970 Ultraviolet Spectrometer (UVS) Mariner 6 and 7 Complete
1969 1975 High-Resolution Ultraviolet Spectrometer (HR UVS); Solar Extreme Ultraviolet Monitor (SEUVM) OSO-5 Complete
1971 1972 Ultraviolet Spectrometer (UVS) Mariner 9 Complete
1973 1978 Ultraviolet Nitric-Oxide Experiment (UVNO)[7] Explorer 51 Complete
1975 1976 Ultraviolet Nitric-Oxide Experiment (UVNO)[8] Explorer 54 Complete
1975 1978 High-Resolution Ultraviolet Spectrometer (HR UVS); Solar Extreme Ultraviolet Monitor (SEUVM) OSO-8 Complete
1977 — Photopolarimeter Voyager 1 Active
1977 — Photopolarimeter Voyager 2 Active
1978 1992 Ultraviolet Spectrometer (UVS) Pioneer Venus Orbiter Complete
1981 1989 Mission operations Solar Mesosphere Explorer Complete
1986 1986 Ultraviolet Spectrometer (UVS) STS-51-L; lost in the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster Lost
1989 2003 Extreme Ultraviolet Spectrometer (EUV); Ultraviolet Spectrometer (UVS) Galileo Complete
1991 2005 Solar Stellar Irradiance Comparison Experiment (SOLSTICE) Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite Complete
1996 1996 High-Resolution Mapping Spectrometer (SVET) Mars 96 Lost
1996 1996 Mechanics of Granular Materials (MGM-I) microgravity experiment[9] STS-79 Complete
1996 2008 Toroidal Imaging Mass-Angle Spectrograph (TIMAS) Polar (satellite) Complete
1997 2017 Imaging Ultraviolet Spectrograph (IUVS)[10] Cassini-Huygens Complete
1998 1998 Impactor Box Systems (COLLIDE)[11][12] STS-90 Complete
1998 1998 Mechanics of Granular Materials (MGM-II) microgravity experiment STS-89 Complete
1998 2003 Solar X-ray Photometer (SXP); Auroral Photometer (AP); Ultraviolet Spectrometer (UVS) Student Nitric Oxide Explorer Complete
1999 2018 Mission operations QuikSCAT Complete
2001 2001 Impactor Box Systems (COLLIDE-2)[13][14] STS-108 Complete
2001 — Solar EUV Experiment (SEE) TIMED (Johns Hopkins APL) Active
2003 2010 Mission operations ICESat Complete
2003 2003 Mechanics of Granular Materials (MGM-III) microgravity experiment[15][16] STS-107; lost in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster Lost
2003 2020 X-ray Ultraviolet Photometer System (XPS); Solar Stellar Irradiance Comparison Experiment (SOLSTICE); Spectral Irradiance Monitor (SIM); Total Irradiance Monitor (TIM); Mission operations SORCE Complete
2004 2015 Mercury Atmospheric and Surface Composition Spectrometer (MASCS) MESSENGER Complete
2006 — Venetia Burney Student Dust Counter (VBSDC) New Horizons Active
2007 2024 Cosmic Dust Experiment (CDE); Cloud Imaging and Particle Size Experiment (CIPS) Explorer 90 Complete
2007 — Digital Fields Board (DFB) THEMIS Active
2009 2018 Mission operations[17] Kepler Space Telescope Complete
2010 — Extreme Ultraviolet Variability Experiment (EVE) Solar Dynamics Observatory; NASA Sounding Rocket Program Active
2011 2011 Total Irradiance Monitor (TIM) Glory Lost
2012 2014 Relativistic Electron and Proton Telescope integrated little experiment (REPTile)[18][19] CSSWE (3U SmallSat) Complete
2012 2019 Relativistic Electron Proton Telescope (REPT); Digital Fields Board (DFB) Van Allen Probes Complete
2013 2014 HyperSpectral Imager for Climate Science (HySICS)[20] NASA high-altitude balloons Complete
2013 2014 Lunar Dust Experiment (LDEX) LADEE Complete
2013 2019 Total Solar Irradiance Calibration Transfer Experiment (TCTE) STPSat-3 Complete
2013 — Imaging Ultraviolet Spectrograph (IUVS); Extreme Ultraviolet Monitor (EUVM); Langmuir Probe (LPW) MAVEN Active
2015 — Mission operations Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission Active
2016 — Extreme ultraviolet and X-ray Irradiance Sensors (EXIS) GOES-16 Active
2017 — Spectral Irradiance Monitor (SIM); Total Irradiance Monitor (TIM) TSIS-1 on the International Space Station Active
2018 — Global-scale Observations of the Limb and Disk Instrument GOLD Active
2018 — Extreme ultraviolet and X-ray Irradiance Sensors (EXIS) GOES-17 Active
2018 — Digital Fields Board (DFB) Parker Solar Probe Active
2018 2022 Compact Spectral Irradiance Monitor (CSIM)[21][22] 6U SmallSat Complete
2020 — Emirates Mars Ultraviolet Spectrometer (EMUS); Emirates Exploration Imager (EXI) Emirates Mars Mission Active
2020 — Reeldown Aerosol Cloud Humidity and Temperature Sensor (RACHuTS); Fiberoptic Laser Operated Temperature Sensor (FLOATS); LASP Particle Counter (LPC)[23][24] Strateole-2 (20 CNES high-altitude balloons) Active
2021 — Near-ultraviolet (NUV) transmission spectrometer Colorado Ultraviolet Transit Experiment Active
2021 — Mission operations IXPE Active
2022 — Dual-channel Extreme Ultraviolet Continuum Experiment (DEUCE) NASA Sounding Rocket Program Active
2022 — Dual Aperture X-Ray Solar Spectrometer (DAXSS) INSPIRESat-1 Active
2022 — Extreme ultraviolet and X-ray Irradiance Sensors (EXIS) GOES-18 Active
2022 — Suborbital Imaging Spectrograph for Transition region Irradiance from Nearby Exoplanet (SISTINE) NASA Sounding Rocket Program Active
2022 — Compact Total Irradiance Monitor (CTIM)[25] 6U SmallSat Active
2023 — Occultation Wave Limb Sounder (OWLS) INSPIRESat-3 Active
2023 — Relativistic Electron and Proton Telescope integrated little experiment (REPTile) Colorado Inner Radiation Belt Experiment Active
2024 — Extreme ultraviolet and X-ray Irradiance Sensors (EXIS) GOES-19 Active
2024 — Surface Dust Analyzer (SUDA) Europa Clipper Active
September 2025 — Interstellar Dust Experiment (IDEX) Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP) Planned
October 2025 — Ultraviolet telescope Supernova remnants and Proxies for ReIonization Testbed Experiment (SPRITE) (12U SmallSat) Planned
December 2025 — Total Irradiance Monitor (TIM); Spectral Irradiance Monitor (SIM) Total and Spectral Solar Irradiance Sensor–2 (TSIS-2) (SmallSat) Planned
December 2025 — Dual Solar Position Sensor (SPS) Sun Coronal Ejection Tracker (SunCET) (6U SmallSat, Johns Hopkins APL) Planned
February 2026 — Acute Precipitating Electron Spectrometer (APES); Proton eLectron Advanced Sensor for M-I Coupling (PLASMIC); Ionization Gauge (IG); Cross Track Wind Sensor (CTWS); Rapid Active Plasma Sounder (RAPS) COUSIN Sounding Rocket Planned
2026 — 3-axis search coil antenna; 2-axis dipole antenna Climatology of Anthropogenic and Natural VLF wave Activity in Space (CANVAS) Planned
2026 — AXIS (Atmospheric X-ray Imaging Spectrometer) Atmosphere Effects of Precipitation through Energetic X-rays (AEPEX) (6U SmallSat) Planned
2026 — Far ultraviolet integral field spectrograph (IFS) Integral Field Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Experiment (INFUSE) Sounding Rocket Planned
2026 — Chromosphere spectrograph Solar eruptioN Integral Field Spectrograph (SNIFS) Sounding Rocket Planned
2026 — Lunar Surface Electromagnetics Experiment (LuSEE) Artemis II Planned

See also

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References

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External links

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