*Editor’s Note: The “Views from NAU” blog series highlights the thoughts of different people affiliated with NAU, including faculty members sharing opinions or research in their areas of expertise. The views expressed reflect the authors’ own personal perspectives.
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NASA awards scientist $848,013 grant for ongoing study of Potentially Hazardous Asteroids (PHAs)
Characterizing and understanding PHAs critical for planetary defense planning
Asteroid impacts are the only potentially preventable natural disaster on Earth—assuming a threatening asteroid is detected with enough lead time to launch a mission into space to deflect it.
Through its Planetary Defense Coordination Office, NASA sponsors projects to… Read more
What a martian meteorite can teach us about Earth’s origins
What do Mars and Iceland have in common?
These days, not so much. But more than 4.5 billion years ago, it’s possible the Red Planet had a crust comparable to Iceland today. This discovery, hidden in the oldest martian fragments found on Earth, could provide information about our planet that was lost… Read more
Pathways to the skies: NAU and CCC launch partnership to increase URM participation in astronomy, planetary science and other STEM fields
National Science Foundation grant will support internships for 20 undergraduates
Professor David Trilling, chair of Northern Arizona University’s Department of Astronomy and Planetary Science, has been awarded a grant by the National Science Foundation to launch a new partnership with Coconino Community College (CCC). The initiative will create a pathway… Read more
NAU scientist joins extended OSIRIS-REx mission to visit another asteroid
Renamed OSIRIS-APEX, the extended mission will study Apophis, which will have a close encounter with Earth in 2029
Because of their potential to deepen our understanding of the solar system… Read more
Searching for ‘ground truth’: Planetary geologist to lead next phase of Mars Science Lab Curiosity Rover project
Scientists will compare thermophysical properties from rover to orbital data and analog measurements gathered on Earth to understand rock record
Launched in 2011, NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Curiosity Rover… Read more