Dante S Lauretta

Biography

Dante Lauretta is principal investigator of the OSIRIS-REx mission and a professor of planetary science at the University of Arizona’s Lunar and Planetary Laboratory. His research interests focus on the chemistry and mineralogy of asteroids and comets, and he is an expert in the analysis of extraterrestrial materials, including lunar samples, meteorites and comet particles.

As the leader of NASA’s OSIRIS-REx Asteroid Sample Return Mission, Dr. Lauretta heads a research team at the UA working on this mission, including over 30 undergraduate and graduate students. The mission was selected in 2011, launched in 2016, and returns samples back to Earth in 2023. Sample analysis continues until 2025. This project will help ensure that the University of Arizona remains at the forefront of planetary exploration for the next decade.

Degrees

• Ph.D. Earth and Planetary Science
• Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri, United States
• Theoretical and Experimental Studies of Fe-Ni-S, Be, and B Cosmochemistry
• B.A. Oriental Studies - Japanese
• University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, United States
• B.S. Mathematics and Physics
• University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, United States

Awards

• Space Foundation John L. "Jack" Swigert Jr. Award for Space Exploration
• Space Foundation, Spring 2022
• American Astronautical Society Space Technology Award
• American Astronautical Society, Spring 2021
• University of Arizona Regents Professor
• The Arizona Board of Regents, Spring 2021
• University of Arizona Galileo Circle Dean's Award
• University of Arizona - College of Science, Fall 2020
• MOCA Tucson Local Genius Award
• Tucson Museum of Contemporary Art, Spring 2020
• Guinness World Record - Asteroid (101955) Bennu - The Smallest Object to be Orbited by a Spacecraft
• Guinness World Records, Spring 2019
• Guinness World Record - OSIRIS-REx Spacecraft - The Closest Orbit of a Planetary Body
• Guinness World Records, Spring 2019
• Mensa Select Award - Constellations - Mensa Mind Games
• American Mensa, Spring 2018
• NASA Group Achievement Award - OSIRIS-REx Earth Gravity Assist Team
• NASA, Spring 2018
• Silver Prize - Constellations - International Serious Play Board Game Award
• International Serious Play Conference, Spring 2018
• University of Arizona - College of Humanities - Alumni of the Year
• University of Arizona Alumni Association, Fall 2017
• Boys and Girls Clubs of America Alumni Hall of Fame
• Boys and Girls Clubs of America, Spring 2017
• NASA Group Achievement Award – OSIRIS-REx Mission Team
• NASA, Spring 2017
• NASA Silver Achievement Medal – OSIRIS-REx Asteroid Astronomy Science Team
• NASA, Spring 2017
• University of Arizona Alumni Achievement Award
• University of Arizona Alumni Association, Spring 2017
• Arizonan of the Year (awarded to OSIRIS-REx)
• Arizona Republic, Fall 2016
• Best Family Board Game of 2016 (for Xtronaut)
• Good Housekeeping Magazine, Fall 2016