LPL Spotlight Stories

OSIRIS-REx team members practice getting a mock sample capsule packed for its helicopter flight

This Is How the First-Ever U.S. Asteroid Sample Return Will Unfold

Scientists are gearing up for a high-stakes finale to OSIRIS-REx, the first U.S. mission to snare a sample from an asteroid
The capsule used in the exercise is a full-scale replica of the one that is on the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft.

OSIRIS-REx Team Members Practice Recovering Asteroid Sample Capsule Bound for Earth

Everything must go smoothly when the OSIRIS-Rex spacecraft releases its capsule with pristine asteroid material to land in the Utah desert in September.

Hamilton, Ranjan, Robinson Named 2023 Scialog Fellows

Scialog is short for “science + dialog.” Created in 2010 by RCSA, the Scialog format supports research by stimulating intensive interdisciplinary conversation and community building around a globally important scientific theme. Teams of two or three Fellows who have not previously collaborated compete for seed funding for novel research projects based on the ideas that emerge at the conference.
Asteroid Itokawa as seen by the Hayabusa spacecraft. The peanut-shaped S-type asteroid measures approximately 1,100 feet in diameter and completes one rotation every 12 hours.

Pass the Salt: This Space Rock Holds Clues as to How Earth Got Its Water

The discovery of tiny salt grains in an asteroid sample brought to Earth by the Japanese Hayabusa spacecraft provides strong evidence that liquid water may be more common in the solar system's largest asteroid population than previously thought.
Artist's impression of a near-Earth object in space.

Catalina Sky Survey Wants Your Help Hunting for Asteroids

Anyone with an internet connection can now join University of Arizona researchers as they work to discover asteroids hurtling through our solar system.
Exoplanet GJ 486 b

Webb Finds Water Vapor, But From a Rocky Planet or Its Star?

GJ 486 b is about 30% larger than the Earth and three times as massive, which means it is a rocky world with stronger gravity than Earth. It orbits a red dwarf star in just under 1.5 Earth days. It is too close to its star to be within the habitable zone, with a surface temperature of about 800 degrees Fahrenheit. And yet, Webb observations show hints of water vapor.
Dr. Renu Malhotra, Regents Professor and Louise Foucar Marshall Science Research Professor of Planetary Sciences.

Asian Pacific Islander Desi American Heritage Month Faculty Spotlight: Dr. Renu Malhotra

The College of Science is celebrating Asian Pacific Islander Desi American (APIDA) Heritage Month with Dr. Renu Malhotra, a Regents Professor and Louise Foucar Marshall Science Research Professor in the Planetary Sciences department.

 Image of Ganymede, the largest and most massive of Jupiter's moons.

Icy Moonquakes: Surface Shaking Could Trigger Landslides

Quakes could be the source of the mysteriously smooth terrain on the moons circling Jupiter and Saturn, according to a new study led by a University of Arizona graduate student.
Artist's concept of an asteroid passing Earth.

LPL Students Observe and Track “Near-Miss” Asteroid

As a sizable asteroid makes a close pass by Earth, a team of University of Arizona students is ready to observe the action to practice and test procedures that could be useful in mitigating an impending asteroid impact in the future.

LPL Alum Maria Steinrueck wins 51 Pegasi b Fellowship

The 51 Pegasi b Fellowship provides postdoctoral scientists with the opportunity to conduct theoretical, observational, and experimental research in planetary astronomy.