In this artist's impression of Voyager 2's 1989 encounter with Neptune, the gas giant's Great Dark Spot is visible in the distance. Thought to be a hole in the giant planet's cloud cover, winds in that area have been clocked at 1,500 miles per hour, the fastest in the solar system (not the subject of this study). (Photo: NASA)
Storms on Uranus, Neptune Confined to Upper Atmosphere Applying newly developed analysis techniques to data obtained by NASA's Voyager 2 spacecraft in 1989, a team involving two UA planetary scientists discovered that weather phenomena on Uranus and Neptune are confined to the upper 680 miles of atmosphere instead of reaching deeper into the planets' interior as was previously thought.
Scheduled for launch in 2016, the OSIRIS-REx will travel to asteroid Bennu, scoop up a sample of pristine material leftover from the formation of the solar system, and return it to Earth in 2023.
UA-Led Asteroid Mission is a Go NASA has granted final approval of the OSIRIS-REx sample return mission led by the UA. The target asteroid, uniquely interesting scientifically, is one of the most potentially hazardous objects known - it has a one-in-2,000 chance of colliding with Earth in the late 22nd century. The asteroid could hold clues to the origin of the solar system.
One of many fresh impact craters spotted by the UA-led HiRISE camera, orbiting the Red Planet on board NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter since 2006. (Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS/UA)
UA Mars Camera Reveals Hundreds of Impacts Each Year Taking before and after pictures of the Martian terrain, researchers with the UA-led HiRISE camera have identified nearly 250 fresh impact craters on the Red Planet. The results provide scientists with a better yardstick to estimate how frequently craters are blasted on Mars, allowing them to assess recently formed features with greater accuracy.
A scanning electron microscope image shows the tiny, 1-millimeter-long bladders used to catch small organisms by Utricularia gibba, the humped bladderwort plant (color added). The submerged growing plant is a voracious carnivore, with its bladders leveraging vacuum pressure to suck in tiny prey at great speed. (Photo: Enrique Ibarra-Laclette and Claudia Anahí Pérez-Torres)
Carnivorous Plant Throws Out ‘Junk’ DNA UA genomics experts have helped decipher the DNA of the carnivorous bladderwort. This genome is the smallest ever sequenced from a higher plant, and scientists say that nearly all of it - 97 percent - comprises genes that code for proteins, suggesting the majority of noncoding DNA may not be crucial for complex life.
Much more suited for arid environments than rubber trees, the guayule plant is a promising candidate for more sustainable, high-yield natural rubber production. (Photo: Jack Dykinga/USDA)
UA Receives $3M Grant for Sustainable Biorubber Production The UA's Dennis Ray will lead the effort of breeding guayule, a rubber-producing plant suited for arid environments, to achieve higher yields and reduced harvest cycle time. Tech Launch Arizona, a technology commercialization center at the UA, assisted with the UA partnership with Yulex Corporation, which is providing the grant.
In this artist's impression of Voyager 2's 1989 encounter with Neptune, the gas giant's Great Dark Spot is visible in the distance. Thought to be a hole in the giant planet's cloud cover, winds in that area have been clocked at 1,500 miles per hour, the fastest in the solar system (not the subject of this study). (Photo: NASA)
Scheduled for launch in 2016, the OSIRIS-REx will travel to asteroid Bennu, scoop up a sample of pristine material leftover from the formation of the solar system, and return it to Earth in 2023.
One of many fresh impact craters spotted by the UA-led HiRISE camera, orbiting the Red Planet on board NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter since 2006. (Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS/UA)
A scanning electron microscope image shows the tiny, 1-millimeter-long bladders used to catch small organisms by Utricularia gibba, the humped bladderwort plant (color added). The submerged growing plant is a voracious carnivore, with its bladders leveraging vacuum pressure to suck in tiny prey at great speed. (Photo: Enrique Ibarra-Laclette and Claudia Anahí Pérez-Torres)
Much more suited for arid environments than rubber trees, the guayule plant is a promising candidate for more sustainable, high-yield natural rubber production. (Photo: Jack Dykinga/USDA)

Did UA Mars Camera Find Lost Spacecraft?

  • UANews
  • April 11, 2013
Hardware from a Soviet spacecraft that went silent only seconds after making the first successful soft landing on Mars in 1971 might appear in images taken by the UA-operated HiRISE camera aboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Features in the images resemble the parachute, heat shield, terminal retrorocket and lander.

UA Helps Lead U.S. Exploration of Asteroids

  • UANews
  • April 10, 2013
UA scientists welcome President Barack Obama's NASA budget proposal, specifically its focus on gaining a better understanding of asteroids that could potentially harm Earth. The UA operates the most prolific ground-based system for identifying near-Earth asteroids, and it is tasked by NASA with leading the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft mission to retrieve a sample from an asteroid.

Golf Cart Restoration Suits Engineering Class to a Tee

  • Yuma Sun
  • April 9, 2013
Unique projects for a college-level Engineering 102 high school course, made possible through a partnership with the UA, include building a cardboard canoe, a hovercraft and, most recently, a golf cart. The course not only helps students understand basic engineering concepts, it also allows those who complete it to receive college credit.

Scientists Develop Computer Games to Keep Miners Safe

  • UANews
  • April 9, 2013
Computer games developed by UA scientists could help prepare miners to avoid potential fatal accidents and to respond to emergencies in the mines. Based upon real accident data and current training techniques, the games teach miners to make difficult decisions by allowing players to interact with the scenarios to affect the outcome.

UA STEM Learning Center Set to Launch

  • UANews
  • April 8, 2013
The UA STEM Learning Center will provide the structural organization necessary to unify those engaged in STEM learning and workforce development in Southern Arizona. The center is set to launch April 12 during an event at the UA Flandrau Science Center and Planetarium.

UA Adds Tech Transfer to Promotion, Tenure Criteria

  • UANews
  • April 8, 2013
New faculty promotion and tenure guidelines take into account efforts in technology commercialization. The move is a cultural shift that emphasizes developing ideas with the potential to benefit the local and state economy, and beyond.

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