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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.
Artist’s conception of NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft collecting a sample from the asteroid Bennu.

NASA grants UA space facility $3,000,000

The funding will support researchers' search for clues from the earliest days of the solar system
NASA illustration of cubesats in orbit.

UA students prepare to put their own cubesat into space

The cereal box-sized "CatSat" will transmit data to UA's Biosphere 2.
Photograph from the lunar surface shows Apollo 17 astronaut Harrison Schmitt.

UA scientists still learning from Apollo 17 rocks 50 years ago

University of Arizona lunar scientists are still discovering details from the last manned moon mission's rocks.

OSIRIS APEX

OSIRIS APEX is a new name for NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft, to accompany its new mission to explore the near-Earth asteroid Apophis.
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.

Space Robots

A robotics lab at the University of Arizona is developing swarms of autonomous space robots capable of constructing bases and mining for resources on other celestial bodies like the Moon.
Image from James Webb Space Telescope

James Webb Telescope scientists dive into interstellar study

Astronomers are beginning to settle into a routine of regular research assignments.
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.
A collage of images representing 50+ years of "Star Trek" on television.

Has "Star Trek" changed the world? Author Ryan Britt examines a legacy lasting 50 years... and beyond.

Also on Arizona Spotlight: How A Tucson woman made a life-changing transformation through art.
Apollo 16 lunar exploration, April 1972.

Tucson-based scientists giving moon rocks a second look

NASA's Apollo 16 crew originally collected the samples 50 years ago.
A screenshot from the trailer for the movie Moonfall depicts a space shuttle crew at launch. The set, a former NASA shuttle training simulator, is now on display at the Pima Air and Space Museum.

Former shuttle cockpit simulator comes to Tucson

Astronauts trained on it, then it became a movie set.
James Webb Space Telescope

University of Arizona backed telescope project off to a stellar start

The James Webb Space Telescope will aim its optics at distant galaxies.
NASA launched the James Webb Telescope on 12/25/2021. The University of Arizona designed the Near-Infrared Camera that the telescope will use.

Space telescope launched on daring quest to behold 1st stars

The University of Arizona designed one of the instruments on board.
NASA tracked dangerous space debris close to the International Space Station in November.

Threat from hazardous space debris is getting worse

A University of Arizona scientist says tracking rogue objects is harder than ever.
Jeff Bezos with his proposed lunar lander.

Bezos' private space program could yield dividends for researchers

Scientists anticipate less-expensive access to Earth orbit and the moon.

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