<h2>AAS 99-102</h2>
<h2>Lunar and Planetary Coronograph Explorer (LAPLACE) Mission Design                                                                                </h2>
<h4>C. Seybold*, W. Fowler*, D. Slater**                                                                                                                                                </h4>
*The University of Texas at Austin, **Southwest Research Institute                                                                                                        
<h2> Abstract </h2>
The Lunar and Planetary Coronagraph Explorer (LAPLACE) mission is a long duration balloon experiment being proposed under NASA's University-Class Explorer Program (UNEX). The primary goal is to study the physical processes of space weathering on exposed planetary surfaces by remote sensing of their coronae. Currently the only extraterrestrial sampled surface, the Moon, will be used to measurement calibration. Let by the University of Texas at Austin (UT), gondola design, mission development, operations, and data evaluation will be accomplished by an integrated team of students, engineers, scientists, and technicians from UT, the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), UT-San Antonio, and UT-Pan American.