News

Bennu Global Mosaic

Mapping the Solar System: From the Moon to Bennu

July 15, 2020

The OSIRIS-REx science team has created the highest resolution global map of any planetary body. The endeavor is the latest in UArizona's long history of celestial imaging and mapping.

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This image, taken by the spacecraft from a distance of 0.4 miles, shows a group of large boulders located just north of asteroid Bennu’s equatorial region, with two exhibiting linear cracks. For scale, the crack that runs through the rectangular boulder

NASA's OSIRIS-REx Discovers Sunlight Can Crack Rocks on Asteroid Bennu

June 9, 2020

Scientists with the UArizona-led OSIRIS-REx mission found that rocks on asteroid Bennu appear to be cracking as sunlight heats them up during the day and they cool down at night.

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This image, showing asteroid Bennu's spinning-top shape, was taken by the MapCam camera on NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft on April 29, from a distance of 5 miles. From the spacecraft's vantage point, half of Bennu is sunlit and half is in shadow. Credit:

Asteroids Bennu and Ryugu May Have Formed Directly From Collision in Space

June 1, 2020

Scientists from the OSIRIS-REx and Hayabusa2 teams have new theories about why the asteroids Bennu and Ryugu have their signature "spinning-top" shapes.

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This artist’s concept shows NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft descending towards asteroid Bennu to collect a sample of the asteroid’s surface.

OSIRIS-REx Asteroid Sample Collection Set for Oct. 20

May 21, 2020

After more than a decade of work and much anticipation, the UArizona-led OSIRIS-REx mission will swipe a sample from the asteroid Bennu's rocky surface in October.

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The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft deployed its sampling arm during an April 14 mission rehearsal.

UArizona Cameras Capture Asteroid Close-Up During OSIRIS-REx Rehearsal

April 21, 2020

The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft got within 200 feet of the asteroid Bennu during a practice run for the NASA mission. The spacecraft will grab a sample from Bennu's surface in late summer.

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This image shows sample site Nightingale, OSIRIS-REx’s primary sample collection site on asteroid Bennu. The image is overlaid with a graphic of the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft to illustrate the scale of the site. 

X Marks the Spot: NASA Selects Site for Asteroid Sample Collection

Dec. 12, 2019

The OSIRIS-REx mission team evaluated four candidate sites and identified site Nightingale as the best option for the sample collection, with site Osprey named as the backup.

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This view of asteroid Bennu ejecting particles from its surface on January 6 was created by combining two images taken by the NavCam 1 imager onboard NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft: a short exposure image , which shows the asteroid clearly, and a long expos

Explaining Bennu’s Mysterious Particle Events

Dec. 5, 2019

NASA's OSIRIS-REx science team has identified three possible explanations for the particles that asteroid Bennu is consistently tossing into space.

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The final four candidate sample collection sites shown on a map of asteroid Bennu. They are designated Nightingale, Kingfisher, Osprey and Sandpiper. Credit: NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona

NASA Mission Selects Final Four Site Candidates for Asteroid Sample Return

Aug. 13, 2019

The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft has mapped Bennu to identify the best spots for the spacecraft to collect a sample. The final two sites – a primary and backup – will be selected in December.

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