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.
Nasa's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft has now started its return journey back to Earth, complete with cargo of samples and data collected by sensors produced by aer
INFRARED sensors made in Southampton are travelling through deep space on a mission to learn more about a potentially hazardous asteroid heading for Earth. The asteroid Bennu has a one in 3,000 chance – considered “relatively high” – of hitting Earth in the late 22nd century. Present day scientists want to do all they can for future generations by understanding the physical and chemical properties of the asteroid, which was formed some two billion years ago. The infrared detectors for the mission were made by the Southampton factory of aerospace engineering company Leonardo. The sensors were picked by Arizona State University (ASU) for its OSIRIS-REx Thermal Emission Spectrometer (OTES) instrument, which has been vital to the mission.