The Space Sciences Laboratory (SSL) is the UC system’s premier space sciences research facility and one of the preeminent university laboratories in the country for space research. SSL is an Organized Research Unit (ORU) of the Berkeley campus, with the primary goals of fostering outstanding research in space-related sciences and providing education for the next generation of space scientists. Research at SSL is led by Berkeley faculty and SSL Senior Fellows, and focuses on experiments and observations carried out in space, but also includes research with the potential of leading to future space experiments, and the theoretical research that is tied into the experimental and observational programs. Since its inception in 1959, SSL has participated in over 50 NASA space science missions, including the Apollo, Mars, and Explorer programs, as well as many international space missions.