LPL Spotlight Stories

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: NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona) Credit: NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona

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

Scientists from the OSIRIS-REx and Hayabusa2 teams have a new theory about why the asteroids Bennu and Ryugu have their signature "spinning-top" shapes.
This artist’s concept shows NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft descending towards asteroid Bennu to collect a sample of the asteroid’s surface. (Image: NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona)

OSIRIS-REx Asteroid Sample Collection Set for October 20

The new date allows the team more time to assess Bennu's unexpectedly rugged terrain. The event will mark NASA's first-ever asteroid sample collection.
The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft deployed its sampling arm during an April 14 mission rehearsal. (Photo: NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona)

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

The spacecraft of the UArizona-led OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample return mission executed a series of maneuvers that brought it within a mere 200 feet of its designated sampling location on the surface of Bennu.
A Martian Mash Up: Meteorites Tell Story of Mars' Water History

A Martian Mash Up: Meteorites Tell Story of Mars' Water History

University of Arizona researchers probed Martian meteorites to reconstruct Mars’ chaotic history. Their findings suggest that Mars might not have had a global magma ocean.
Saturn and it's aurora

What Makes Saturn's Upper Atmosphere So Hot

New mapping of the giant planet's upper atmosphere reveals a likely reason why it's so hot.
If selected, the Io Volcano Observer, or IVO, will investigate whether a magma ocean lies beneath the surface.

UArizona-Led Mission to Io Selected as Finalist for NASA Discovery Program

If selected as the winner, the spacecraft mission to Jupiter's volcanic, vibrant moon will determine whether a magma ocean lurks beneath its surface.
UArizona Looks Toward Work on NASA’s Potential Asteroid-Hunting Space Telescope

UArizona Looks Toward Work on NASA’s Potential Asteroid-Hunting Space Telescope

Professor Amy Mainzer of the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory will provide technical leadership for the projected Near-Earth Object Surveillance Mission, which will include the NEO Surveyor spacecraft.
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. (Image: NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona)

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

The OSIRIS-REx mission team evaluated data from four candidate sites in order to identify site Nightingale as the best option for the sample collection, with site Osprey named as the backup.
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 (1.4 ms), which shows the asteroid clearly, and a long exposure image (5 sec), which shows the particles clearly. (Photo: NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona/Lockheed Martin)

Explaining Bennu’s Mysterious Particle Events

NASA's OSIRIS-REx science team has identified three possible explanations for the particles that asteroid Bennu is tossing into space.
One of the greatest threats from the sun — to astronauts and the satellites that provide GPS maps, cell phone service, and internet access — are high-energy particles that erupt from the sun in bursts. (Artist impression: NASA/Princeton)

First Results from Spacecraft Exploring Sun

The sun is revealing itself in dramatic detail and shedding light on how other stars may form and behave throughout the universe. University of Arizona researchers involved in the mission report exciting findings from the Parker Solar Probe's first close encounters with our very own star.