World

Los Alamos Helps Fire Up interplanetary Space Missions

Artist’s rendering of NASA’s Dragonfly rotorcraft on the surface of Saturn’s moon Titan. The car-sized lander will explore Titan’s environment and study its complex chemistry. Courtesy/NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Steve Gribben

LANL News:

  • Work is helping to power exploration into the cosmos

Within the recesses of a Los Alamos National Laboratory facility, a scientist studies a small ceramic pellet through layers of leaded glass. The pellet fits in the palm of a hand, but its purpose is anything but small. It is a plutonium-238 heat source, engineered to power scientific instruments in some Read More

How Is The U.S. Modernizing The Nuclear Tip Of The Spear?

A B61 Nuclear Bombs in a Bunker illustrates the unimaginable destructive power located in one storage bunker. Courtesy/Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists 2025

By Mark MacInnes
For the Los Alamos Daily Post

Adversaries and Urgency

As the United States confronts growing competition from China and Russia, much of the public discussion about nuclear deterrence focuses on missiles, submarines, and bombers. A recent online forum hosted by the Advanced Nuclear Weapons Alliance Deterrence Center highlighted a less visible challenge: rebuilding the industrial and scientific infrastructure Read More

Sen. Leo Jaramillo Represents New Mexico And National Hispanic Caucus Of State Legislators At International Leadership And Diplomacy Exchange In Spain

Representing New Mexico and the National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators, Sen. Leo Jaramillo addresses international leaders and senior Spanish government officials during an international leadership and diplomacy exchange hosted by Fundación Consejo España–EE.UU in Madrid and Cádiz, Spain. Courtesy photo

Sen. Leo Jaramillo, Los Alamos, Rio Arriba, Sandoval & Santa Fe counties, 4th from right, gathers for a photo with international leaders and senior Spanish government officials during an international leadership and diplomacy exchange in Spain. Courtesy photo

By Read More

JROMC’s 53rd Oppenheimer Memorial Lecture To Feature Internationally Known Space Scientist Dr. Dante S. Lauretta

OSIRIS-REx launches from Cape Canaveral. Courtesy/United Launch Alliance

JROMC News:

The J. Robert Oppenheimer Memorial Committee (JROMC) announces its 53rd Annual Public Lecture is 7 p.m. Monday, June 22, at Duane Smith Auditorium in Los Alamos.

In this free lecture, “Origins of Our Solar System: The NASA OSIRIS-REx Mission,” Dr. Dante S. Lauretta will discuss his work as the Principal Investigator of NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission. 

OSIRIS-REx, a robotic spacecraft, traveled to near-Earth asteroid Bennu to collect and study carbon-based compounds that date from the very earliest times Read More

Honoring The Fallen This Memorial Day 2026

Today marks Memorial Day, which honors the men and women who died while serving in the U.S. military. Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images/history.com

Memorial Day 2026
history.com

Today marks Memorial Day 2026, a federal holiday that celebrates and honors the men and women who died while serving in the U.S. military. Observed every year on the last Monday of May, Memorial Day was originally called Decoration Day in a nod to the tradition of placing flowers or other decorative displays at gravesites.

The origins of Memorial Day date back to the Civil War, which claimed the lives of some 620,000 Read More

Kiwanis Hears Inspirational Talk From LAHS Student Celia Pesiri On Time As Salaam Shalom U.S. Peace Ambassador

Los Alamos High School student Celia Pesiri presents a talk on May 11 to the Kiwanis Club of Los Alamos about her experience as a Salaam Shalom U.S. Peace Ambassador. Courtesy/Kiwanis

By KARIN CHURCH
Kiwanis Club of Los Alamos

On Monday, May 11, the Kiwanis Club of Los Alamos was inspired by a presentation from Los Alamos High School student Celia Pesiri about her experience as a Salaam Shalom U.S. Peace Ambassador.

Tomorrow’s Women, a 501(c)(3) organization founded in Santa Fe in 2003 to bring young Israeli and Palestinian women together, offers New Mexico high school students the opportunity Read More

Op-Ed: Sacred Space Should Be Safe Space

By Rabbi Jack Shlachter
Los Alamos

As a rabbi, I am sadly and keenly aware of the appalling rise in antisemitism in this country and around the world. And as a human being, I mourn alongside our Muslim neighbors in the wake of the tragic event in San Diego on Monday. Beginning with my move to New York in 2019 and continuing after my return to Los Alamos,  I’ve been a member of the New York Board of Rabbis (NYBOR). Rather than try to express my own thoughts on the terrible shooting at the San Diego mosque, I reproduce here the message sent out by NYBOR earlier today and strongly encourage all of us to reflect Read More

PEEC Nature Club Develops Autonomous AI ‘PumaGuard’ System

PEEC Nature Club members who developed a 3-year ‘PumaGuard’ project combining wildlife biology, AI, and field engineering, from left, Gavin Bent, Seb Koglin, Phoebe Reid, Celia Pesiri, Adis Bock, Aditya Viswanathan, Suchi Jha, and Tate Plohr. Not pictured is Zoe Bent, who graduated in 2025. Courtesy/PEEC

By MARK MACINNIS
Los Alamos Daily Post

At a recent evening presentation at the Los Alamos Nature Center, a group of Los Alamos High School (LAHS) students in the Pajarito Environmental Education Center’s (PEEC) Nature Club unveiled something far beyond a typical high school science club Read More

AstroTour [AR] At Museum Of Indian Arts & Culture May 17

STEMarts Lab News:

The community is invited to attend an interactive Star Party where art, astronomy, and cultural storytelling come together through augmented reality, 6-10 p.m. on Sunday, May 17, at the Museum of Indian Arts & Culture.

The STEMarts Lab AstroTour [AR] project is an innovative collaboration with the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture developed with students from the Santa Fe Indian School to transform the night sky into a living canvas.

Using generative code, astronomy, and cultural narratives, participants will explore constellations in new ways—bridging scientific Read More