Founded in 1894 by Boston mathematician Percival Lowell, the observatory is best known for the discovery of the planet Pluto in 1930 and for Lowell’s personal observations and drawings of the planet Mars between 1894 and 1903.

Currently on exhibit at the Challenger Space Center, on extended loan from the Lowell Observatory, are items relating to the study of the planet Mars by Percival Lowell and the discovery of Pluto by Clyde Tombaugh. Items include replicas of the "Mars Globe"- one of twelve globes that were intricately hand-sketched by Percival Lowell during his observations of Pluto between 1894 and 1916; copies of Lowell’s personal logs and annals; actual newspaper articles from Lowell’s personal clipping file that were published during the "Mars Craze" created by Lowell during the turn of the century; photos of Lowell at his 24-inch Clark telescope and of Tombaugh using the Lowell Observatory’s blink comparator; and reproductions of the original photographic plates used to discover Pluto in 1930.

The display also contains an aerial photo and information about modern-day Lowell Observatory, and its Anderson Mesa dark-sky facility that operates four research telescopes plus the Navy’s Prototype Optical Interferometer (NPOI), one of the largest optical telescopes ever constructed. More than 22 Ph.D. astronomers from around the world conduct their research work at the Lowell Observatory.