LPL Spotlight Stories

OSIRIS-REx mission scientists thought sampling a piece of Bennu would be like a walk on the beach, but the surprisingly craggy surface proved to be more of a challenge. NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona

Highly Porous Rocks Responsible for Bennu's Surprisingly Craggy Surface

Using data from NASA OSIRIS-REx mission, a University of Arizona-led team of scientists concluded that asteroids with highly porous rocks, such as Bennu, should lack fine-grained material on their surfaces.

 An artist impression of a close flyby of the metal-rich near-Earth asteroid 1986 DA. Astronomers using the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility have confirmed that the asteroid is made of 85% metal. Addy Graham/University of Arizona

'Mini Psyches' Give Insights into Mysterious Metal-Rich Near-Earth Asteroids

New research into metal-rich asteroids reveals information about the origins and compositions of these rare bodies that could one day be mined.
Artist's illustration of two massive objects colliding.

Earth and Venus Grew up as Rambunctious Planets

What doesn't stick comes around: Using machine learning and simulations of giant impacts, researchers at the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory found that the planets residing in the inner solar systems were likely born from repeated hit-and-run collisions, challenging conventional models of planet formation.

 In 2135, asteroid Bennu will make a close flyby of Earth. Our planet's gravity will tweak Bennu's path, making it a challenge to calculate its future trajectory. During the flyby, Bennu has an extremely small chance of passing through a gravitational keyhole that would set it on a path to impact Earth late in the 22nd century. NASA/Goddard

OSIRIS-REx Improves Understanding of Potentially Hazardous Asteroids

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.

Mars Lake Hypothesis on Ice After Study Offers Different Explanation

Scientists have long debated what's under the surface of Mars' south pole. A new study points to clays being more likely than a subsurface lake.

 Artist’s illustration of the early solar system, at a time when no planets had formed yet. A swirling cloud of gas and dust surrounded the young sun. The cutaway through this so-called protoplanetary disk shows its three-dimensional structure.

Researchers Trace Dust Grain's Journey Through Newborn Solar System

Combining atomic-scale sample analysis and models simulating likely conditions in the nascent solar system, a new study reveals clues about the origin of crystals that formed more than 4.5 billion years ago.
An artist’s concept of asteroid 16 Psyche. Maxar/ASU/P.Rubin/NASA/JPL-Caltech

Asteroid 16 Psyche Might Not Be What Scientists Expected

New UArizona research finds that the target asteroid of NASA's Psyche mission may not be as metallic or dense as previously predicted.

 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.