OSIRIS-Rex is carrying a cargo of samples and data collected by sensors made at Leonardo in Millbrook.
Another of Leonardo’s sensors, made in Italy, will guide the vessel on its return journey.
OSIRIS-REx is the first NASA mission to visit a near-Earth asteroid, to survey the surface and collect a sample to deliver to Earth. It is due to touch down in 2023.
Scientists will be able to analyse samples to determine their composition, history, and the presence of minerals or organic materials to help understand the origins of life on Earth.
Arizona State University selected Leonardo’s sensors for its OSIRIS-REx Thermal Emission Spectrometer (OTES) instrument. Leonardo’s sensors allowed the OTES instrument to detect minerals present on the surface of the Bennu asteroid, while also gathering thermal data.