CAESAR Faculty

Dante Lauretta

Professor, Principal Investigator, OSIRIS-REx

Tom Zega

Associate Professor

The CAESAR (Comet Astrobiology Exploration SAmple Return) mission is a comet sample return mission concept selected in December 2017 for further development. 

The CAESAR mission will acquire a sample from the nucleus of comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko, returning it safely to Earth. Comets are made up of materials from ancient stars, interstellar clouds, and the birth of our solar system. The CAESAR sample will reveal how these materials contributed to the early Earth, including the origins of the Earth's oceans, and of life.