June 9, 2020 NASA's OSIRIS-REx Discovers Sunlight Can Crack Rocks on Asteroid Bennu 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.
June 1, 2020 Asteroids Bennu and Ryugu May Have Formed Directly From Collision in Space Scientists from the OSIRIS-REx and Hayabusa2 teams have new theories about why the asteroids Bennu and Ryugu have their signature "spinning-top" shapes.
May 21, 2020 OSIRIS-REx Asteroid Sample Collection Set for Oct. 20 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.
April 21, 2020 UArizona Cameras Capture Asteroid Close-Up During OSIRIS-REx Rehearsal 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.
Dec. 12, 2019 X Marks the Spot: NASA Selects Site for Asteroid Sample Collection 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.
Dec. 5, 2019 Explaining Bennu’s Mysterious Particle Events NASA's OSIRIS-REx science team has identified three possible explanations for the particles that asteroid Bennu is consistently tossing into space.
Aug. 13, 2019 NASA Mission Selects Final Four Site Candidates for Asteroid Sample Return 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.
March 19, 2019 An Odd Ball in Space: OSIRIS-REx Spacecraft Studies Asteroid Bennu Up Close The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft's first close-up observations of asteroid Bennu reveal new details that pose a challenge to the mission's objective of returning a sample to Earth.
Dec. 31, 2018 NASA’s OSIRIS-REx Spacecraft Enters Close Orbit Around Bennu, Breaking Record On December 31, NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft entered into orbit around the asteroid Bennu, and made Bennu the smallest object ever to be orbited by a spacecraft.
Dec. 10, 2018 UA-Led OSIRIS-REx Discovers Water on Asteroid Bennu Observations made by the spacecraft during its approach of Bennu reveal that the asteroid interacted with water in its early history and is an excellent specimen for the mission, which is slated to return a sample of surface material to Earth in 2023.
