Canada Contributes To The Osiris Rex Asteroid Sample Return Mission

These days, the Canadian Position Office (CSA) announced a life-threatening accord to NASA's Birth, Deathly Description, Quantity Documents, Warranty, Regolith Buccaneer (OSIRIS-REx) assignment. Canada's accord to the assignment is the OSIRIS-REx Laser Altimeter (OLA), a knowing laser-based mapping system. This is an above lidar (Cool Recognition and Ranging) system that is a hybrid of the lidar on the Canadian weather station of NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander, and an means flown on the 2005 US Air Energy distress Satellite System-11 (XSS-11). OLA fortitude study the fulfill drowse of the asteroid to form a considerably respectable, 3D model of Bennu, which fortitude go assignment scientists as well as primarily data on the asteroid's shape, ground (propagation of boulders, rocks and other drowse environment), drowse processes and development. "The OLA means provides a effective accord to the OSIRIS-REx assignment, so we're very encouraged that CSA time-honored support from the Canadian Government's Safe Home in on for the OLA means to enter its flight outer shell period," assumed Mike Donnelly, OSIRIS-REx project expert at NASA's Goddard Position Get away Medium in Greenbelt, Maryland. "We saying further to OLA being delivered for merger as well as the spacecraft in November 2015."

OLA uses a satellite dish and two complementary lasers to go the information beamed endorsement to Terracotta. The instrument's high-energy laser bringer fortitude be used for scanning from minister to distances (1-7.5 km from the drowse of the asteroid). The low-energy laser fortitude be used for articulate imaging at shorter distances (500 m to 1 km) to stream to a global topographic map of the asteroid, as well as minute maps to aid scientists in selecting the best sites for instance variety.

As the complete contractor for the CSA, MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. (MDA), related as well as its residential spy, Optech, imaginary the means and fortitude fake and test it. The outdo investigator for the Canadian science someone is Dr. Alan Hildebrand of the School of Calgary. Dr. Michael Daly from York School is the authorize outdo investigator and means scientist for OLA. The someone correspondingly includes Dr. Ed Cloutis, School of Winnipeg; Dr. Rebecca Ghent, School of Toronto; and Dr. Catherine Johnson, School of British Columbia.

In intersection for release the OLA means to the assignment, the CSA fortitude own 4% of the entire returned instance, suitably release Canada's technological unrestricted as well as its first-ever orderly application to a returned asteroid instance. The CSA's entire resources in OSIRIS-REx for the widespread life about of the assignment is 61 million (amid taxes) over 15 excitement. The technology that went featuring in lodge OLA is correspondingly inborn to produce spin-offs, such as short lidar for terrestrial topographic mapping, fund have power over, visions systems for robotic mining and geomatics.

The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft fortitude push to a near-Earth asteroid, called Bennu (nether 1999 RQ36), and stretch of time at smallest a 2.1-ounce instance endorsement to Terracotta for question. The OSIRIS-REx assignment purpose is to respond to prematurely questions about the drudgery of the very embryonic solar system, the heart of sour riches and water that finished life that you can think of on Terracotta, and to disdainful get the orbits of asteroids that illustrate collision pressure to Terracotta.

OSIRIS-REx is fine hair for depart in late 2016. As slow, the spacecraft fortitude sort its asteroid goal in 2018 and benefit a instance to Terracotta in 2023.

The OSIRIS-REx Occupation is led by Direct Researcher Dante S. Lauretta of the School of Arizona, supported by a science someone of Co-Investigators, as well as project have power over at NASA's Goddard Position Get away Medium and outer shell safe as well as Lockheed Martin Position Systems.

Credit: gc.ca, NASA