OSIRIS-REx launches from Cape Canaveral. Photo Courtesy United Launch Alliance
JROMC NEWS RELEASE
The J. Robert Oppenheimer Memorial Committee (JROMC) is proud to announce its 53rd Annual Public Lecture, Monday, June 22, 7:00 p.m., at the Duane Smith Auditorium in Los Alamos. In this free lecture, “Origins of Our Solar System: The NASA OSIRIS-REx Mission,” Dr. Dante S. Lauretta will discuss his work as the Principal Investigator of NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission.
OSIRIS-REx, a robotic spacecraft, traveled to near-Earth asteroid Bennu to collect and study carbon-based compounds that date from the very earliest times of our solar system. The samples returned by OSIRIS-REx contained amino acids and nucleobases (two molecular building blocks essential to life), supporting the idea that asteroids may have delivered key precursor ingredients for life throughout the solar system.
Dr. Lauretta’s lecture will discuss this engineering triumph, along with the mission’s challenges and breakthroughs. This lecture is aimed at a general audience and will delight anyone curious about the solar system we inhabit.
Dr. Dante S. Lauretta is a Regents Professor of Planetary Science and Cosmochemistry at the University of Arizona’s Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, and Director of the Arizona Astrobiology Center. Under his leadership, OSIRIS-REx successfully collected and returned pristine material from near-Earth asteroid Bennu in 2023, an achievement widely recognized as one of the most significant milestones in modern planetary exploration.
The mission’s scientific and technical success has been honored with some of the highest awards in aerospace and space science. In 2024, the OSIRIS-REx team received the Collier Trophy, awarded by the National Aeronautic Association for the greatest achievement in American aeronautics or astronautics. That same year, the mission was recognized with the Michael Collins Trophy for Current Achievement from the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, the Neil Armstrong Space Flight Achievement Award from the American Astronautical Society, and the Goddard Memorial Trophy from the National Space Club. In 2025, the mission’s science results were named one of Physics World’s Top 10 Breakthroughs of the Year.
Free refreshments will be available after the lecture so attendees can meet with the speaker, the 2026 JROMC scholarship winners, and the JROMC Board.
The J. Robert Oppenheimer Memorial Committee is a nonprofit organization that honors Oppenheimer’s legacy through public lectures by distinguished speakers, scholarships for high school students, and science-education outreach in Northern New Mexico. For more information, visit www.JROMC.org.