Dante S. Lauretta (born 1970) is a professor of planetary science and cosmochemistry at the University of Arizona's Lunar and Planetary Laboratory. He is the principal investigator on NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission. [1]
Dante S. Lauretta (born 1970) is a professor of planetary science and cosmochemistry at the University of Arizona's Lunar and Planetary Laboratory. He is the principal investigator on NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission. [1]
Lauretta grew up in Arizona and received a B.S. in physics and mathematics and a B.A. in Oriental Studies with focus in Japanese from the University of Arizona in 1993 and a Ph.D. in Earth and planetary sciences from Washington University in St. Louis in 1997. [2] He was a postdoctoral research associate in the Department of Geological Sciences at Arizona State University from 1997 through 1999. He was an Associate Research Scientist in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Arizona State University from 1999 through 2001. He was hired onto the faculty at the University of Arizona in 2001.
His research focuses on the chemistry and mineralogy of asteroids and comets as determined by in situ laboratory analyses and spacecraft observations. This work is important for constraining the chemistry of the solar nebula, understanding the origin of complex organic molecules in the early Solar System, and constraining the initial chemical inventories of the terrestrial planets. He is an expert in the analysis of extraterrestrial materials. In particular, he uses inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), electron microprobe analysis (EPMA), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) to study meteorites, lunar samples, and particles returned by the Stardust mission. Lauretta is known for his experimental work on the formation of iron-bearing sulfides in the solar nebula. He also worked on the cosmochemical behavior of various elements, such as mercury, boron and beryllium in meteorites. [3] Asteroid 5819 Lauretta was named in his honor. [3] [4] He serves as the principal investigator on NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission to return at least 60 grams (2.1 oz) of regolith from carbonaceous asteroid 101955 Bennu in 2023.
Lauretta was the recipient of the 2002 Nier Prize of the Meteoritical Society, and the 1995 Nininger Meteorite Award. He was selected as a Kavli Fellow of the National Academy of Sciences in 2008. He was a member of the 2002-2003 Antarctic Search for Meteorites for which he received the Antarctica Service Medal of the United States of America in 2010.
The Discovery Program is a series of Solar System exploration missions funded by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) through its Planetary Missions Program Office. The cost of each mission is capped at a lower level than missions from NASA's New Frontiers or Flagship Programs. As a result, Discovery missions tend to be more focused on a specific scientific goal rather than serving a general purpose.
Carl William Hergenrother is an American astronomer and discoverer of minor planets and comets.
A sample-return mission is a spacecraft mission to collect and return samples from an extraterrestrial location to Earth for analysis. Sample-return missions may bring back merely atoms and molecules or a deposit of complex compounds such as loose material and rocks. These samples may be obtained in a number of ways, such as soil and rock excavation or a collector array used for capturing particles of solar wind or cometary debris. Nonetheless, concerns have been raised that the return of such samples to planet Earth may endanger Earth itself.
The New Frontiers program is a series of space exploration missions being conducted by NASA with the purpose of furthering the understanding of the Solar System. The program selects medium-class missions which can provide high science returns.
The Lunar and Planetary Laboratory (LPL) is a research center for planetary science located in Tucson, Arizona. It is also a graduate school, constituting the Department of Planetary Sciences at the University of Arizona. LPL is one of the world's largest programs dedicated exclusively to planetary science in a university setting. The Lunar and Planetary Lab collection is held at the University of Arizona Special Collections Library.
Extraterrestrial material refers to natural objects now on Earth that originated in outer space. Such materials include cosmic dust and meteorites, as well as samples brought to Earth by sample return missions from the Moon, asteroids and comets, as well as solar wind particles.
101955 Bennu (provisional designation 1999 RQ36) is a carbonaceous asteroid in the Apollo group discovered by the LINEAR Project on 11 September 1999. It is a potentially hazardous object that is listed on the Sentry Risk Table and has the highest cumulative rating on the Palermo Technical Impact Hazard Scale. It has a cumulative 1-in-1,750 chance of impacting Earth between 2178 and 2290 with the greatest risk being on 24 September 2182. It is named after Bennu, the ancient Egyptian mythological bird associated with the Sun, creation, and rebirth.
OSIRIS-REx was a NASA asteroid-study and sample-return mission that visited and collected samples from 101955 Bennu, a carbonaceous near-Earth asteroid. The material, returned in September 2023, is expected to enable scientists to learn more about the formation and evolution of the Solar System, its initial stages of planet formation, and the source of organic compounds that led to the formation of life on Earth. Following the completion of the primary OSIRIS-REx mission, the spacecraft is planned to conduct a flyby of asteroid 99942 Apophis, now as OSIRIS-APEX.
Michael Julian Drake, regent's professor, was the director of the University of Arizona's Lunar and Planetary Laboratory (LPL) and head of the Department of Planetary Sciences. He was the principal investigator of the Origins Spectral Interpretation Resource Identification Security Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) mission of NASA's New Frontiers Program. The OSIRIS-REx mission, launching on September 8, 2016 and arriving at Asteroid Bennu in December 2018, was the most ambitious University of Arizona planetary science project to date and successfully retrieved a sample of the asteroid and returned it to Earth. Drake also made significant contributions to the study of HED meteorites and studied the origin of water in terrestrial planets.
Christina "Chrissy" Richey is an American planetary scientist and astrophysicist working at Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Cañada Flintridge, California. Richey is a project staff scientist for the Europa Clipper mission and is a research technologist in the Astrophysics and Space Sciences Section. Prior to working at JPL, Richey worked as contractor for Arctic Slope Regional Corporation at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. They were a program officer in NASA's Planetary Science Division, the deputy program scientist for the OSIRIS-REx mission, and the deputy science advisor for research and analysis for the Science Mission Directorate.
Ellen Susanna Howell is an American astronomer and planetary scientist who studies the composition and structure of asteroids and comets within the Solar System. She is a research professor at the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory of the University of Arizona, and a team member for the OSIRIS-REx sample-and-return space mission.
DESTINY+ (Demonstration and Experiment of Space Technology for INterplanetary voYage with Phaethon fLyby and dUst Science) is a planned mission to flyby the Geminids meteor shower parent body 3200 Phaethon, and sample dust originating from the "rock comet". The spacecraft is being developed by the Japanese space agency JAXA, and will demonstrate advanced technologies for future deep space exploration. As of 2023, DESTINY+ is planned to be launched in 2025.
CAESAR is a sample-return mission concept to comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko. The mission was proposed in 2017 to NASA's New Frontiers program mission 4, and on 20 December 2017 it was one of two finalists selected for further concept development. On 27 June 2019, the other finalist, the Dragonfly mission, was chosen instead.
The Planetary Missions Program Office is a division of NASA headquartered at the Marshall Space Flight Center, formed by the agency's Science Mission Directorate (SMD). Succeeding the Discovery and New Frontiers Program Office, it was established in 2014 to manage the Discovery and New Frontiers programs of low and medium-cost missions by third-party institutions, and the Solar System Exploration program of NASA-led missions that focus on prioritized planetary science objectives. The Discovery and New Frontiers programs were established in 1992 and 2001 respectively, and have launched fourteen primary missions together, along with two missions launched under the administration of the Planetary Missions Program Office. The Solar System Exploration Program was established alongside the office, with three missions planned for launch under the new program.
The Planetary Material Sample Curation Facility (PMSCF), commonly known as the Extraterrestrial Sample Curation Center is the facility where Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) conducts the curation works of extraterrestrial materials retrieved by some sample-return missions. They work closely with Japan's Astromaterials Science Research Group. Its objectives include documentation, preservation, preparation, and distribution of samples. All samples collected are made available for international distribution upon request.
TAGSAM or Touch-and-Go Sample Acquisition Mechanism is a robotic arm on the OSIRIS-REx space probe designed and used for collecting a sample from asteroid 101955 Bennu. OSIRIS-REx was launched in 2016. It arrived at asteroid Bennu in August 2018, and began scientific studies. It collected a sample of the material making up the surface of Bennu in 2020 and returned it to Earth in 2023.
Daniella ("Dani") Mendoza DellaGiustina is a Mexican American planetary scientist and academic. She is the principal investigator for NASA's OSIRIS-APEX Mission to asteroid (99942) Apophis, Deputy Principal Investigator of NASA's OSIRIS-REx Asteroid Sample Return Mission, and assistant professor at the University of Arizona's Lunar and Planetary Laboratory.
Megha Mahima Wijewardane is a Sri Lankan-Australian Space and Aviation activist, and the youngest ambassador for NASA's OSIRIS-Rex mission representing Australia since 2018. Megha had a passion for Physics since a remarkably young age. In 2017, when he was 7 years old, he participated in the 2017 NASA Space Apps challenge and did a presentation on the atmosphere of Earth. There he won the Northrop Grumman Prize by competing with university students and aerospace engineers. In 2018, Megha participated in NASA's Space Apps challenge. He worked on a solution for the Bennu asteroid which is at risk of colliding with Earth in the future. For that, he had the opportunity to do some research on Bennu and NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission.
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