Arizona State Space Exploration

Arizona State University's School of Earth and Space Exploration (SESE) in Tempe, Arizona is one of the US's leading interdisciplinary space research institutions, integrating planetary science, astrobiology, astronomy, geological sciences, and aerospace engineering under a single school structure. Its Mars Space Flight Facility operates the THEMIS (Thermal Emission Imaging System) instrument aboard NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter — the longest continuously operating thermal imager in Mars orbit since 2001, mapping temperature, mineralogy, and geology across the entire planet. SESE faculty hold principal investigator roles on flagship missions: Dante Lauretta led the OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample return mission (delivering Bennu samples in 2023); Lindy Elkins-Tanton is the PI for NASA's Psyche mission to the metal-rich asteroid 16 Psyche (launched 2023); Jim Bell built and operates Mastcam-Z cameras aboard the Perseverance rover. In astrobiology, SESE leads the NAI (NASA Astrobiology Institute) node studying early Earth analogs and the habitability of other worlds. The school's combination of flagship mission leadership, long-duration Mars operations experience, and broad astrobiology research makes it one of the most mission-active university programs in planetary science globally.