Professor Michael Daly a panellist at ROM Connects event on OSIRIS-REx mission

OSIRIS-REx Artist's Concept OSIRIS-REx extends its sampling arm as it moves in to make contact with the asteroid Bennu.
An artist’s concept drawing of OSIRIS-REx OSIRIS-REx extends its sampling arm as it moves in to make contact with the asteroid Bennu.

Lassonde School of Engineering Professor Mike Daly will be a featured guest at the ROM Connects panel discussion called “Getting to know Bennu: updates on the OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample-return mission,” taking place Jan. 25.

Michael Daly
Michael Daly

Daly, a professor in Lassonde’s Department of Earth & Space Science & Engineering at York University, will be on the panel along with Canadian experts Tim Haltigin (Canadian Space Agency), Kate Howells (Planetary Society; Government of Canada’s Space Advisory Board member) and Kim Tait (Royal Ontario Museum).

During the event, the group will provide the latest updates on OSIRIS-REx, the ongoing mission to return a sample from the surface of asteroid Bennu.

OSIRIS-REx – the first-ever sampling mission by NASA to the distant asteroid Bennu – was successfully launched into space on Sept. 8 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The mission aims to revolutionize our understanding of asteroids and the origins of the universe. Daly was the scientific lead for the mission.

Hear from scientists as they analyze the newest OSIRIS-REx data, transmitted to Earth following the spacecraft’s arrival at Bennu in December 2018.

The event takes place from 6 to 7 p.m. at the Signy & Cléophée Eaton Theatre, Level 1B, and is free to attend. RSVP is required and tickets are available on the ROM website.