Lockheed to Install 2nd Instrument on NASA’s OSIRIS-REx Spacecraft

Lockheed Martin‘s space systems business will install a point spectrometer developed by NASA‘s Goddard Space Flight Center for the Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security – Regolith Explorer.

The space agency said Wednesday the OSIRIS-REx Visible and Infrared Spectrometer will work to help OSIRIS-REx identify water resources and organic materials on the surface of the Bennu asteroid by measuring visible and near-infrared light.

“This is another step in completing the spacecraft and sending it on its way to rendezvous with the asteroid Bennu,” said Mike Donnelly, OSIRIS-REx project manager at Goddard.

NASA added that the OVIRS instrument will undergo on-ground testing with OSIRIS-REx before the launch in September 2016.

Lockheed is building the spacecraft, which is scheduled to reach Bennu in 2018 and send back samples from the asteroid to Earth in 2023.