University of Arizona in the News

The New Yorker Sept. 28, 2023
How NASA brought an asteroid to Earth

Scientists from the University of Arizona and NASA working at the Johnson Space Center in Houston continue their preliminary analysis and inventory of the asteroid sample collected by the OSIRIS-REx ahead of an official unveiling scheduled for Oct. 11 during a livestreamed news conference. Mission leaders hope the "black dust and debris" will provide insight into the birth of the solar system some 4.5 billion years ago. Meanwhile, the spacecraft, now renamed OSIRIS-APEX, has embarked on a new journey to study the asteroid Apophis.
Climate.gov Sept. 27, 2023
Heat governance scholar Ladd Keith's collaboration with NOAA

University of Arizona assistant professor of planning and sustainable built environments Ladd Keith discusses his work helping communities increase their heat resilience in a warming world.
NPR Sept. 25, 2023
After 7 years, NASA's Osiris-REx returns to earth... with souvenirs!

NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission brought back asteroid samples untainted by Earth's atmosphere. Jessica Barnes with the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory is interviewed.
PBS NewsHour Sept. 25, 2023
What scientists hope to learn from asteroid sample returned to Earth on NASA spacecraft

On Sunday, NASA's OSIRIS-REx dropped off a capsule containing rocks and dust collected from asteroid Bennu at the Department of Defense Utah Test and Training Range near Salt Lake City. Meanwhile, the spacecraft, now renamed OSIRIS-APEX, embarked on a new journey to study the asteroid Apophis. "Successfully delivering samples from Bennu to Earth is a triumph of collaborative ingenuity and a testament to what we can accomplish when we unite with a common purpose. But let's not forget – while this may feel like the end of an incredible chapter, it's truly just the beginning of another," said University of Arizona Regents Professor of Planetary Science Dante Lauretta.
The Conversation Sept. 25, 2023
Implants like pacemakers and insulin pumps often fail because of immune attacks − stopping them could make medical devices safer and longer-lasting

Researchers in the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson identified a gene that appears to cause the body to reject biomedical implants, which occurs in 10% to 30% of cases. Assistant professor of surgery Dr. Kellen Chen writes that these findings could lead to the development of truly bio-integrative medical devices that fully integrate with the body for the recipient's entire life span.
The Arizona Republic Sept. 25, 2023
Water from thin air? It's one possible solution for rural Arizonans who need access

A new technology called atmospheric water generation extracts moisture from the air to produce water, even in the dry Sonoran Desert. Proponents hope it can provide reliable access to safe drinking water in tribal or remote rural communities or cities suffering from plumbing poverty. Water quality violations are also more common in water systems serving fewer than 3,000 people, according to a graduate research study from the University of Arizona. Meanwhile, the University of Arizona, led by Karletta Chief, a prominent Diné scholar and the director of the university's Indigenous Resilience Center, collaborated with Diné College on a five-year project funded by the National Science Foundation to train the next generation of scientists and engineers to address the water, food and energy needs of people living on Navajo Nation. "When we talk about sustainability, about doing projects with communities, the most important part is actually the communities being part of the equation," said Vasiliki Karanikola, part of the Indige-FEWSS program and a chemical and University of Arizona environmental engineering professor.
WBUR-Radio, Boston Sept. 25, 2023
Who owns the moon owns the future

Ice and minerals on the Moon could help humanity travel to distant planets and asteroids. University of Arizona associate professor of aerospace and mechanical engineering Jekan Thanga, head of the Space and Terrestrial Robotic Exploration Laboratory and the NASA-supported ASTEROIDS laboratory, discusses how lunar resources could speed future space travel and change life on Earth.
CNN Sept. 25, 2023
A long-awaited asteroid sample has landed in the US

An asteroid sample collected by NASA has touched down on Earth, giving scientists the opportunity to learn more about the origins of the solar system and capturing a piece of a massive space rock that has a chance of colliding with our planet in the future. It’s the first time the agency has accomplished such a feat.
BBC Sky at Night Sept. 25, 2023
OSIRIS-REx successfully returns asteroid sample to Earth

NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission has successfully delivered a sample of Asteroid Bennu back to Earth.
USA Today Sept. 24, 2023
Are you Hispanic if you can't speak Spanish? Here's what Hispanics say

A Pew Research Center report released last week finds most Latinos in the U.S. don't consider speaking Spanish strictly necessary for someone to being considered Hispanic. In Arizona, English literacy tests were required in order to vote for much of the 20th century, and public school teachers across the American Southwest employed corporal punishment to keep Spanish-speaking children from speaking their native tongue. As a result, many Hispanics who lived through those experiences chose not to teach their children Spanish, to save them the humiliation they endured. "It's important to understand the history of linguistic discrimination, the way that Spanish was eradicated from Latino families," said Lillian Gorman, an assistant professor and director of the Spanish as a Heritage Language program at the University of Arizona. "You have these inter-generational stories where it wasn't a choice to have this language loss occur."