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Illustration shows NASA's Lucy spacecraft visiting multiple asteroids during a 12 year mission.

Why asteroids are the hottest objects for exploration in the solar system

Osiris REx is among a group of spacecraft aimed at discovering new information about space rocks.
Illustration of NASA's Psyche spacecraft approaching the asteroid 16 Psyche in 2029.

Launch date approaches for long-awaited mission to a metal-marked asteroid

NASA's Psyche spacecraft has ASU ties.
Artist’s conception of NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft collecting a sample from the asteroid Bennu.

The Buzz: What to expect when OSIRIS-REx returns to Earth

The seven-year mission to harvest samples of an asteroid is months from completion, and scientists are ready for the next step.
Cassandra Klos, mission commander, left, is greeted by Linda Leigh, right, one of the original eight Biospherians as the door is opened on the Space Analog for the Moon and Mars on Tuesday May 2, 2023 at Biosphere 2 in Tucson.

Four-person crew released from sealed habitat after week long journey

The crew studied what it would be like to live and work on another planet inside a pressurized habitat.
Mission medical officer Eiman Jahangir enters the Space Analog for the Moon and Mars as mission communications officer and accessibility officer Sheri Wells-Jensen walks up to the habitat at Biosphere 2 in north Tucson on Thursday, April 27, 2023. Jahangir is a two-time NASA astronaut candidate finalist.

Four-person crew sealed into pressurized habitat to learn about space living

The crew will be locked in for six days.
Illustration of the Pioneer 10 unmanned spacecraft.

Robotic exploration of the outer planets began 50 years ago.

The University of Arizona joined in the first missions to Jupiter and Saturn.
The three-story, 89,000-square-foot Applied Research Building will provide new research capabilities with state-of-the-art equipment and technology.

New $85 million home for UA's Space Institute unveiled

The building first broke ground in 2021.
Artist's illustration of the 16 Psyche asteroid.

ASU scientist prepares to run first-ever planetary mission to a metal world

16 Psyche robotic spacecraft is scheduled to launch later this year.
Rare desert winter snow on saguaro cactus in the Catalina Mountains.

Winter solstice: Why isn't the shortest day of the year in the deepest part of winter?

It may be the day with the fewest hours of sunshine for the global north, but there is another source of heat to consider.
Rare desert winter snow on saguaro cactus in the Catalina Mountains.

The Buzz: Winter Solstice Celebrations

The importance of the shortest day of the year in cultures around the world.
Researchers think Mars was an ocean planet 4 billion years ago.

Researcher theorizes ancient Mars underwent climate change disaster

An article suggests life on the Red Planet doomed itself and altered the environment.
An illustration of a World View balloon above the Earth.

Out of this world: space tourism expected to launch in 2024

World View, based in Tucson, is now in their preliminary design stage.
Illustration of DART satellite closing in on asteroid moon Dimorphos.

NASA sets up collision with far-away asteroid

The DART mission will test whether Earth-fired weapons might someday push world-threatening objects off course.
The asteroid impact that led to the extinction of the dinosaurs may not have been the only one.

UA researcher follows trail of a possible second dinosaur-killing asteroid

A new study looks for clues in an underwater impact crater near Africa.
Illustration of a proposed Mars glider.

University of Arizona researchers testing ideas for lightweight Mars glider

It would coast through the Martian skies far from landers and rovers on the surface.
LRO (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter) will photograph the moon crash site.

University of Arizona students await photographs of moon crash site

They identified and traced the path of China-launched rocket that impacted the surface.

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