Virtual Public Event: The Adventures of OSIRIS-REx: Journey to Asteroid Bennu and Daring Sample Return
Tags: General Public | Educator | Planetary Science
Event information
The Lunar and Planetary Institute's Cosmic Exploration Speaker Series presents:
The Adventures of OSIRIS-REx: Journey to Asteroid Bennu and Daring Sample Return
Thursday, October 7, 7:00 p.m. (CDT)
In the year 2135, the asteroid, Bennu, will make a close approach to Earth. Although this near-Earth object will not pose a danger to our planet at that time, Bennu is considered a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA). In 2016, NASA sent the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft to Bennu. After spending more than two years gathering critical information about the asteroid, OSIRIS-REx is now on its way home, carrying a precious sample of rock and dust from Bennu’s surface. Join us for our first edition of CESS+ to hear from Dolores Hill about how OSIRIS-REx is advancing planetary defense and our understanding of the solar system.
Dolores Hill is a Senior Research Specialist at the University of Arizona’s Lunar and Planetary Laboratory (LPL). Since 1981, Dolores has analyzed a wide range of meteorites, provided technical support, and participated in public outreach for space missions and for Arizona’s LPL laboratories. Dolores currently works with sample teams for NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission and coordinates Arizona’s LPL outreach activities and the Astronomical League’s Target NEOs! observing program. Dolores has a lifelong interest in amateur astronomy. Near-Earth asteroid (164215) Doloreshill is named after her.