Asteroids are the building blocks of planets, providing a detailed record of the processes and events that shaped the planets. I’ll talk about NASA’s recent OSIRIS-REx mission, which set out to collect and return to Earth pristine samples of the carbon-rich asteroid Bennu. Samples of Bennu are now being studied by a team of >200 scientists and are set to transform our understanding of how the solar system evolved.

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About the speaker: Ashley J King

I'm a planetary scientist and UKRI Future Leaders Fellow at the Natural History Museum, London. I explore the origin of solar systems by studying the physical and chemical properties of meteorites and extraterrestrial materials returned to Earth by space missions. I have expertise in a wide range of analytical techniques including electron microscopy, mass spectrometry, and laboratory and synchrotron-based spectroscopy. I use these tools to investigate presolar and solar dust in the protoplanetary disk, the geological history of primitive planetesimals, and the relationship between meteorites, asteroids and comets.

More about me HERE.