Instruments from Teledyne Technologies Inc. are aboard a NASA spacecraft that is scheduled to land Tuesday on an asteroid and take a sample from the surface.The OSIRIS-Rex asteroid rendezvous mission uses image sensor technology from the Thousand Oaks aerospace and digital imaging manufacturer to determine the best spot to take the sample from the asteroid Bennu. The sample will return to Earth in September 2023.“These imaging technologies have operated flawlessly during the entire mission, taking visible images, measuring surface topology, and using visible-infrared spectroscopy to assess surface material composition,” the company said in a statement.The instruments aboard OSIRIS-Rex include image sensors on three cameras that are sensitive to the low light levels on Bennu and impervious to space radiation. They were developed by the Teledyne Dalsa subsidiary in Canada.Also, two LIDAR sensors in the laser altimeter to measure the asteroid topography to an accuracy of one centimeter at the sample site was developed by Teledyne Optech. And visible-infrared detectors were provided by Teledyne Imaging Sensors in Camarillo to measure the spectrum of the asteroid surface by splitting the light into its component wavelengths.Executive Chairman Robert Mehrabian said that Teledyne was proud to be a partner in the asteroid mission.“Our contribution to this mission exemplifies Teledyne’s broad commitment to exploration and discovery, from the ocean floor to deep space,” Mehrabian said in a statement.Shares of Teledyne closed up on Tuesday $5.16, or about 1.5 percent, to $339.46 on the New York Stock Exchange.
Teledyne Instruments to Land on Asteroid
