Aug. 17, 2022 More than one asteroid could have spelled doom for the dinosaurs A newly discovered impact crater below the seafloor hints at the possibility that more than one asteroid hit Earth during the time when dinosaurs went extinct. UArizona researcher Veronica Bray, who specializes in craters found throughout the solar system, is co-author of a new study about the discovery.
Aug. 2, 2022 As reflective satellites fill the skies, UArizona students are making sure astronomers can adapt University of Arizona students and faculty members completed a comprehensive study to track and characterize satellites, using a ground-based sensor they developed to measure satellites' brightness, speed and paths through the sky.
July 7, 2022 OSIRIS-REx scientists: Taking asteroid sample was like punching a ball pit Before-and-after data from the few seconds it took the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft to collect a sample from asteroid Bennu revealed a surprise: The particles of Bennu's exterior are so loosely packed, they act more like a fluid than a solid.
May 31, 2022 Planetary defense exercise uses Apophis as hazardous asteroid stand-in UArizona scientists took part in an international planetary defense exercise that used asteroid Apophis – a large, potentially hazardous asteroid – to test the planetary defense response chain.
May 3, 2022 Planetary science decadal survey prioritizes UArizona-led planetary defense mission A new decadal survey from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine recommends NASA fully support NEO Surveyor, a space-based survey designed to discover and measure asteroids and comets that could pose an impact hazard to Earth. Amy Mainzer, a professor of planetary sciences, leads the effort.
March 2, 2022 UArizona to help NASA understand solar wind and plasma with HelioSwarm mission Plasma is rare on Earth, but it fills the sky. To more deeply understand this state of matter that makes up 99% of the visible universe, NASA's HelioSwarm mission will deploy a "swarm" of spacecraft to gather data. UArizona assistant professor Kristopher Klein will serve as the mission's deputy principal investigator.
Feb. 15, 2022 UArizona students confirm errant rocket's Chinese origin, track lunar collision course For weeks, UArizona students have been gathering data on a high-profile piece of space junk on a collision course with the moon. They've confirmed it's not a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket booster as previously believed.
Feb. 1, 2022 It takes a special kind of planet to make a moon Moons around terrestrial planets may play important roles in shaping the conditions for life. For sizable moons to form successfully, the circumstances must be just right, a new study finds.
Jan. 19, 2022 OSIRIS-REx mission team wins 2022 Swigert Award for Space Exploration The award recognizes the team behind the mission's successful collection of a pristine asteroid sample for laying "the groundwork for forging the next generation of scientists, astronomers, geologists and more."
Nov. 11, 2021 Near-Earth Asteroid Might be a Lost Fragment of the Moon The near-Earth asteroid Kamo`oalewa might actually be a fragment of our moon, according to a team of astronomers led by the University of Arizona. Kamo`oalewa is a quasi-satellite – a type of near-Earth asteroid that orbits the sun but remains relatively close to Earth.
