LPL Spotlight Stories

The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft, depicted in an artist rendering, uses its Touch-And-Go Sample Acquisition Mechanism to touch the surface of the asteroid Bennu to collect a sample. A new gift will help the OSIRIS-REx team purchase a tool to examine the sample when it returns to Earth in 2023.

$2M Gift Advances UArizona Space Science Initiatives

The gift will enable the purchase of a nanoscale secondary ion mass spectrometer, an instrument the analysis team will use to help find answers to fundamental questions about the origins of the solar system.

 Zoe Zeszut painted mythological birds perched on the Bennu features that carry their names.

Bennu in the Sky, on the Canvas and (Soon) in Zoe Zeszut's Hands

Zoe Zeszut painted mythological birds perched on the Bennu features that carry their names.
This image, the last one taken by the spacecraft, shows crescent Bennu with its night side melting with the complete black of space as the spacecraft pushed away from Bennu. The photo was taken with NavCam, one of three camera instruments designed and built by Malin Space Systems. NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona/Lockheed Martin

OSIRIS-REx Spacecraft is Headed Home with Asteroid Sample

After nearly five years in space, the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft is on its way back to Earth with an abundance of rocks and dust from near-Earth asteroid Bennu.

 Recent explosive volcanic deposit around a fissure of the Cerberus Fossae system. NASA/JPL/MSSS/The Murray Lab

Volcanoes on Mars Could be Active, Raising Possibility that the Planet was Recently Habitable

New observations reveal that Mars could still be volcanically active, raising the possibility for habitable conditions below the surface of Mars in recent history.
Photo of Carina Bennett by Chris Richards

Behind the Scenes with Carina Bennett

In 2019, the University of Arizona rolled out a new brand, Wonder, rooted in the university’s purpose and values and designed to capture the spirit of curiosity that powers Wildcat creativity and ingenuity.

Beyond Ordinary

Mapping Bennu: UArizona alumna’s wonder moment begins with the OSIRIS-REx mission and a pinpoint of light.
Scientists Ewen Whitaker, Gerard Kuiper and Ray Heacock in front of a Ranger model and lunar hemisphere which is now located at Flandrau Science Center and Planetarium. / UArizona Lunar and Planetary Lab photo.

Masters of Space

Research from UArizona scientists has shaped our understanding of our solar system and universe - beginning with the Apollo 11 mission more than 50 years ago.

A Celestial Detective Makes Her Way From the UK to Investigate Space Rocks at Arizona

Jessica Barnes calls herself a cosmic detective. Her career path began to take shape when she discovered geosciences as an undergraduate at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland.
Christopher Hamilton launches a drone during flight tests in the Holuhraun, Iceland lava flow field. RAVEN builds upon recent developments in drone technology – such as NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, accompanying the Mars 2020 rover “Perseverance.”

Iceland: The Wildcat Testing Ground

UArizona’s Lunar and Planetary Laboratory programs are influenced by early Apollo missions and Gerard Kuiper’s approach to teaching. He took his students on field trips to places on Earth that he felt were representative of what students might see on the moon or in the solar system.

 The Nightingale sample site after the TAG event. The red "X" indicates the approximate location where OSIRIS-REx contacted the asteroid's surface. The red circle shows the same boulder that was circled in the before image. NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona

New Images: OSIRIS-REx Leaves its Mark on Bennu

New images of Bennu's surface captured during the final flyover reveal dramatic changes to the sample site.