NASA to Host Asteroid Sample Media Call; Provide Experts for Interviews

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Oct 05, 2023, 17:24 ET

WASHINGTON, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Following a public unveiling of the United States' first asteroid sample at 11 a.m. EDT Wednesday, Oct. 11, NASA will host a media teleconference and separate in-person interviews in English and Spanish with experts from the agency and the University of Arizona.

The OSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification and Security – Regolith Explorer) spacecraft capped its seven-year mission on Sunday, Sept. 24, with the delivery of a pristine sample of surface material from asteroid Bennu.

OSIRIS-REx Asteroid Sample Return lid opening at Building 31 Astromaterials Curation Facility.

The unveiling event at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston will air live on NASA TV, the NASA app, and the agency's website.

The media teleconference will begin at 2:30 pm EDT and include members of the OSIRIS-REx science team. Audio of the call will stream live at:

https://www.nasa.gov/nasatv

In addition, subject matter experts are available for interviews beginning at 2:30 p.m. CDT (3:30 p.m. EDT), Oct. 11, in-person and remotely:

Maritza Montoya, OSIRIS-REx sample processor, NASA Johnson (Spanish speaker)
Ann Nguyen, OSIRIS-REx scientist, NASA Johnson
Kimberly Allums, OSIRIS-REx Jacobs Engineering project lead, NASA Johnson
Salvador Martinez III, OSIRIS-REx lead technology development engineer, NASA Johnson (Spanish speaker)
Daniel Glavin, senior scientist, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
Dante Lauretta, OSIRIS-REx principal investigator, University of Arizona

The following morning, subject matter experts also will be available for interviews beginning at 5:30 a.m. CDT (6:30 a.m. EDT) Oct. 12:

Lindsay Keller, OSIRIS-REx scientist, NASA Johnson
Maritza Montoya, OSIRIS-REx sample processor, NASA Johnson (Spanish speaker)
Daniel Glavin, senior scientist, NASA Goddard
Salvador Martinez III, OSIRIS-REx lead technology development engineer, NASA Johnson (Spanish speaker)
Kathleen Vander Kaaden, NASA's Science Mission Directorate chief scientist for astromaterials curation, NASA Headquarters

Please contact the NASA Johnson newsroom for any of these opportunities at 281-483-5111 or [email protected]. Media interested in participating in the call must request participation no later than two hours prior to the start time, and are asked to dial-in 15 minutes early as well. The deadline to request in-person or remote one-on-one interviews is Friday, Oct. 6.

In between the OSIRIS-REx media events on Oct. 11, the agency also will host a prelaunch news conference at 1 p.m. to discuss its upcoming Psyche mission to a metal-rich asteroid. That event will air live on NASA TV, the NASA app, and the agency's website.

NASA Johnson houses the world's largest collection of astromaterials from the solar system under one roof, including samples from asteroids, comets, Mars, the Moon, Sun, and dust from other stars. Scientists use world-class laboratories to perform research on planetary materials and the space environment to investigate the origin and evolution of our solar system and beyond.

Learn more about the OSIRIS-REx mission at:

https://www.nasa.gov/osiris-rex

SOURCE NASA