Latest News
Asteroid Time Capsule
September 5, 2014 -The OSIRIS-REx team invites the public to send messages in a time capsule aboard their spacecraft launching in 2016. The mission will collect short statements and images about Solar System exploration – today and predictions for the next decade – to seal in a time capsule. After the spacecraft travels to Bennu and back, mission managers will open the time capsule in 2023 to check on the predictions.
Canada Contributes to NASA’s OSIRIS-REx Mission
July 17, 2014 -Today, the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) announced a significant contribution to NASA’s Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) mission. Canada’s contribution to the mission...
PI BLOG: OSIRIS-REx Canadian Team, LIDAR, Will Study Bennu Geology
July 15, 2014 -When Arizona planetary scientists were planning an asteroid sample-return mission, they looked to Canada for a special instrument and expertise for studying the geology of their target asteroid, 101955 Bennu. NASA selected OSIRIS-REx as...
Construction to Begin on NASA Spacecraft Set to Visit Asteroid in 2018
April 10, 2014 -NASA's team that will conduct the first U.S. mission to collect samples from an asteroid has been given the go-ahead to begin building the spacecraft, flight instruments and ground system, and launch support facilities. This...
Countdown Begins for NASA’s OSIRIS-REx Asteroid Mission
December 10, 2013 -NASA’s OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample return mission began its countdown on December 9, at 7:43 PM EST, with 999 days remaining until the opening of the mission’s launch window in September 2016. “This is a pioneering effort, both...
New NASA Mission to Help Us Learn How to Mine Asteroids
August 8, 2013 -Over the last hundred years, the human population has exploded from about 1.5 billion to more than seven billion, driving an ever-increasing demand for resources. To satisfy civilization's appetite, communities have expanded recycling...
NASA Selects Launch Services Contract for OSIRIS-REx Mission
August 5, 2013 -NASA has selected United Launch Services LLC of Englewood, Colo. to launch the Origins-Spectral Interpretation-Resource Identification-Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) spacecraft. The OSIRIS-REx mission is scheduled to launch in...
NASA To Launch New Science Mission To Asteroid In 2016
May 25, 2011 -NASA will launch a spacecraft to an asteroid in 2016 and use a robotic arm to pluck samples that could better explain our solar system's formation and how life began. The mission, called Origins-Spectral Interpretation-Resource...