As a full-cycle space research institute, CU Boulder’s Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) poses key scientific questions—and then engineers the instruments, operates the missions, and collects the data to answer those questions. This tour of our main building will highlight all aspects of this research and development cycle, from our state-of-the-art machine shop, class-10,000 clean rooms, and a whale-sized thermal vacuum chamber—to our Mission Operations Center, where undergraduate students help operate multimillion dollar NASA satellites and instruments. You’ll also visit our exhibit lobby, where an actual Mariner spacecraft, several one-tenth-scale mission models, a 26-foot Aerobee 150 sounding rocket, and other artifacts showcase our institute’s unique history. LASP has evolved from launching rockets in a parking lot in 1948 to becoming the only research institute in the world to have sent instruments (with a profile of CU’s mascot Ralphie) to every planet in our solar system.
REGISTRATION REQUIRED - Part of Research & Innovation Week