Media Coverage

NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy called the University of Arizona a "crown jewel" among U.S. universities doing space science research during a visit to campus Friday. Melroy's comments came after meetings Friday with students and faculty working on various NASA related programs, including the James Webb Space Telescope and the OSIRIS-REx mission. "Some of the most inspiring pictures that we have seen over the last few couple of years have very strong roots right here. The one I think that blew the world away was of course was the James Webb telescope," she said.

The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft won't clock out after it drops off its samples from asteroid Bennu on Sept. 24, 2023. NASA extended the University of Arizona-led mission, which will be renamed OSIRIS-APEX as it heads to study asteroid Apophis during a close pass by Earth in 2029. Planetary sciences assistant professor and OSIRIS-REx deputy principal investigator Dani DellaGiustina will become principal investigator of OSIRIS-APEX.

NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft will swing by Earth to deliver a sample from asteroid Bennu on Sept. 24, 2023. But it won't clock out after that. NASA has extended the University of Arizona-led mission, which will be renamed OSIRIS-APEX, to study near-Earth asteroid Apophis for 18 months. Apophis will make a close approach to Earth in 2029. Planetary sciences assistant professor and OSIRIS-REx deputy principal investigator Dani DellaGiustina will become principal investigator of OSIRIS-APEX.

Many call Tucson the astronomy capital of the world, and for good reason. The University of Arizona spent $121,908,000 on astronomy and astrophysics research in fiscal year 2020, more than any other school, according to a survey from the National Science Foundation. Most of that goes toward the university’s contributions to developing NASA planetary missions and the research behind them. Professor Mark Marley graduated from UArizona before working at NASA for 20 years. Last year, he returned to campus to become head of the school’s Department of Planetary Sciences and Lunar and Planetary Laboratory (LPL). “Really it’s the backbone of the faculty and our research staff that make all these things possible,” he said. “The thing that really strikes me coming back is just the entrepreneurial spirit of the faculty. People will spend years developing and proposing a mission proposal to NASA. And sometimes given how much competition there is, these things are not successful.”

The OSIRIS-REX spacecraft is on its way back to Earth, having tagged the surface of asteroid Bennu last year to scoop up samples. It will arrive home in 2023, ejecting a capsule full of samples that may help eager scientists decipher the origin of Earth’s water and life. But the spacecraft will have plenty of fuel left. Its mission team wondered: Could it go somewhere else? Yes, it turns out. And not just anywhere, but one of the most famous near-Earth asteroids: Apophis.

Daniella DellaGiustina, OSIRIS-REx working group lead at the University of Arizona, is interviewed.

NASA and UArizona scientists were able to significantly reduce uncertainties about asteroid Bennu's orbit and determine the likelihood of the asteroid impacting Earth between now and the year 2300. "The orbital data from this mission helped us better appreciate Bennu's impact risk over the next couple of centuries and our overall understanding of potentially hazardous asteroids – an incredible result," said Dante Lauretta, OSIRIS-REx principal investigator and a professor in the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory at the University of Arizona.

NASA and UArizona scientists were able to significantly reduce uncertainties about asteroid Bennu's orbit and determine the likelihood of the asteroid impacting Earth between now and the year 2300. "The orbital data from this mission helped us better appreciate Bennu's impact risk over the next couple of centuries and our overall understanding of potentially hazardous asteroids – an incredible result," said Dante Lauretta, OSIRIS-REx principal investigator and a professor in the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory at the University of Arizona.

NASA and UArizona scientists were able to significantly reduce uncertainties about asteroid Bennu's orbit and determine the likelihood of the asteroid impacting Earth between now and the year 2300. "The orbital data from this mission helped us better appreciate Bennu's impact risk over the next couple of centuries and our overall understanding of potentially hazardous asteroids – an incredible result," said Dante Lauretta, OSIRIS-REx principal investigator and a professor in the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory at the University of Arizona.

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 asteroid Bennu.