Planetary Science Institute

{{Infobox organization

| name = Planetary Science Institute

| image = Planetary Science Institute logo.png

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| size = 200px

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| caption = Logo of the Planetary Science Institute

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| formation = 1972

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| type = Nonprofit 501(c)(3)

| founders = William Kenneth Hartmann

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| focus = Planetary science

| headquarters = Tucson, Arizona, United States

| location = 1700 East Fort Lowell, Suite 106

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| membership =

| language = English

| leader_title = Director

| leader_name = Mark V. Sykes

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| website = {{URL|http://psi.edu/}}

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| abbreviation = PSI

}}

The Planetary Science Institute (PSI) {{Cite web|last=Demers|first=Jasmine|title=Tucson's Planetary Science Institute to assist NASA with Saturn moon mission|url=https://tucson.com/news/local/tucsons-planetary-science-institute-to-assist-nasa-with-saturn-moon-mission/article_6efda1f8-ef4f-563b-9bf8-aff2ee68488e.html|access-date=2021-12-02|website=Arizona Daily Star|date=6 July 2019 |language=en}} is a 501(c)(3) non-profit research institute based in Tucson, Arizona, focusing on planetary science.{{Cite web|title=Phys.org - News and Articles on Science and Technology|url=https://phys.org/partners/planetary-science-institute/|access-date=2021-12-02|website=phys.org|language=en}} {{As of|2018}}, its director is Dr. Mark V. Sykes.{{cite web |url=https://www.psi.edu/about/leadership |title=Leadership |website=Planetary Science Institute |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171116133951/https://www.psi.edu/about/leadership |archive-date=16 November 2017 |url-status=live |access-date=21 May 2018}} PSI, along with Space Science Institute (SSI) Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), and Eureka Scientific, were listed as 501(c)(3) organizations in the US in a special report by Nature in 2007, which facilitate federal grant applications of non-tenure-track astronomers.{{cite journal | last1=Bjorn | first1=Genevive| date=2007 | title=Freedom of the skies| journal=Nature| volume=449 | issue= 7163| pages=750–751 | doi=10.1038/nj7163-750a | bibcode=|arxiv =}}

Description

Founded in 1972 by William Kenneth Hartmann,{{cite web |url=http://www.psi.edu/about |title=About Us |website=Planetary Science Institute |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180130032739/https://www.psi.edu/about |archive-date=30 January 2018 |url-status=live |access-date=21 May 2018}} PSI is involved in many NASA missions, the study of Mars, asteroids, comets, interplanetary dust, the formation of the Solar System, extrasolar planets, the origin of life, and other scientific topics. It actively participated in the Dawn mission,{{Cite web|last=Mace|first=Mikayla|title=NASA's Dawn spacecraft runs out of fuel, but Tucson scientists say discoveries will go on|url=https://tucson.com/news/local/nasas-dawn-spacecraft-runs-out-of-fuel-but-tucson-scientists-say-discoveries-will-go-on/article_d407fae6-4dfd-5808-984e-c658d2450e82.html|access-date=2021-12-02|website=Arizona Daily Star|date=2 November 2018 |language=en}}{{Cite web|title=Overview {{!}} Dawn|url=https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/missions/dawn/overview|access-date=2021-12-02|website=NASA Solar System Exploration}} which explored Vesta between 2011 and 2012, and Ceres between 2015 and 2018. It managed the GRaND{{Cite web|title=Dawn - NASA Planetary Data System|url=https://arcnav.psi.edu/urn:nasa:pds:context:investigation:mission.dawn_mission_to_vesta_and_ceres|access-date=2021-12-02|website=arcnav.psi.edu}} a Gamma Ray and Neutron Detector spectrometer,{{Cite web|title=GRaND Instrument {{!}} Technology|url=https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/missions/dawn/technology/grand-instrument|access-date=2021-12-02|website=NASA Solar System Exploration|date=18 October 2018 }} which mapped the surfaces of the two minor planets to determine how they were formed and evolved.

PSI's orbit@home was a distributed computing project through which the public could help in the search for near-Earth objects. The institute is also involved in science education through school programs, popular science books and art.

Notable people

Aileen Yingst, geologist and senior scientist for the Planetary Science Institute
Pamela L. Gay, Senior Education and Communication Specialist and Senior Scientist