The Ed Scott Lecture Series is a tribute to Ed Scott who died in 2021. It is comprised of online lectures, each dealing with developments in a particular field of meteorite studies. The lectures will be presented for a general scientific audience so that members of the Meteoritical Society can learn about questions that drive research in areas outside their own. The series is supported by a donation from Ed’s family.
The Ed Scott Lecture Series is organized through the Membership Committee.
Connection information is provided to MetSoc members via email. Lectures are recorded and made publicly available here:
Upcoming Lectures:
Thursday 1st October at 8 pm UK Time (7 pm UTC)
Bennu and the OSIRIS-REx Mission: Insights from an Ancient Asteroid
Dante Lauretta, The University of Arizona
Brief overview: Samples returned from asteroid Bennu by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission provide an unprecedented view of the materials and processes that shaped the early Solar System. This lecture will explore what Bennu reveals about primitive asteroid evolution, water-rich minerals, organic matter, and the chemical building blocks inherited from the protoplanetary disk. These findings will be placed in the broader context of meteorites and early Solar System evolution, highlighting how returned samples are reshaping our understanding of the origins of planetary materials.
About the presenter: Dante Lauretta is a Regents Professor of Planetary Science and Cosmochemistry at the University of Arizona's Lunar and Planetary Laboratory and the Director of the Arizona Astrobiology Center. He is an expert in near-Earth asteroid formation and evolution and serves as the Principal Investigator of NASA's OSIRIS-REx Asteroid Sample Return mission. OSIRIS-REx is the United States' flagship mission to explore a potentially hazardous near-Earth asteroid, Bennu, to study its physical and chemical properties, assess its impact risk, evaluate its resource potential, and return a pristine sample to Earth for detailed scientific analysis.
The spacecraft launched in September 2016, reached Bennu in 2018, and successfully collected a sample in October 2020. On September 24, 2023, the mission achieved a major milestone when the sample capsule returned to Earth.
Dante is also affiliated with NASA's OSIRIS-APEX mission, which builds on OSIRIS-REx's success by extending its exploration of asteroids. Having led the OSIRIS-REx mission to its historic sample return, Dante has since handed the leadership of OSIRIS-APEX to the next generation, ensuring the continued exploration of the solar system by fostering new talent and ideas.
In addition to his leadership roles, he maintains an active research program in cosmochemistry and astrobiology, focusing on understanding the chemical evolution of the solar system and the formation of organic molecules essential for life.