Scientists and engineers at the University of Arizona have built a suite of cameras to guide NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft to the asteroid Bennu, map its surface and record and verify its collection of a sample.
The first U.S. mission to sample and return a pristine piece of asteroid material is scheduled to lift off from Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Sept. 3, 2016.
The OCAMS instrument, three cameras, was built by the UA's Lunar and Planetary Lab, with help from the College of Optical Sciences and Steward Observatory. It will now be shipped to Lockheed Matin Space Systems in Littleton Colo. for installation into the spacecraft.
The NASA mission will be directed by the scientists of the Lunar and Planetary Lab, under principal investigator, Dante Lauretta.
We'll bring you a closer look at the instrument later today and in Friday's Arizona Daily Star.Â
