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The OSIRIS-REx Laser Altimeter (OLA) Investigation and Instrument

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Abstract

The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) has contributed to the Origins Spectral Interpretation Resource Identification Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) spacecraft the OSIRIS-REx Laser Altimeter (OLA). The OSIRIS-REx mission will sample asteroid 101955 Bennu, the first B-type asteroid to be visited by a spacecraft. Bennu is thought to be primitive, carbonaceous, and spectrally most closely related to CI and/or CM meteorites. As a scanning laser altimeter, the OLA instrument will measure the range between the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft and the surface of Bennu to produce digital terrain maps of unprecedented spatial scales for a planetary mission. The digital terrain maps produced will measure \(\sim7~\mbox{cm}\) per pixel globally, and \(\sim3~\mbox{cm}\) per pixel at specific sample sites. In addition, OLA data will be used to constrain and refine the spacecraft trajectories. Global maps and highly accurate spacecraft trajectory estimates are critical to infer the internal structure of the asteroid. The global and regional maps also are key to gain new insights into the surface processes acting across Bennu, which inform the selection of the OSIRIS-REx sample site. These, in turn, are essential for understanding the provenance of the regolith sample collected by the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft. The OLA data also are important for quantifying any hazards near the selected OSIRIS-REx sample site and for evaluating the range of tilts at the sampling site for comparison against the capabilities of the sample acquisition device.

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Abbreviations

APD:

avalanche photodiode

CAT:

category

CCA:

circuit card assembly

CFD:

constant-fraction discriminator

CSA:

Canadian Space Agency

EMC:

electromagnetic compatibility

HELT:

high-energy laser transmitter

LELT:

low-energy laser transmitter

LVDS:

low voltage differential signalling

MDA:

MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates

OAP:

off-axis parabolic mirror

OCAMS:

OSIRIS-REx Camera Suite

OLA:

OSIRIS-REx Laser Altimeter

OSIRIS-REx:

Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security-Regolith Explorer

OTES:

OSIRIS-REx Thermal Emission Spectrometer

OVIRS:

OSIRIS-REx Visible and Infrared Spectrometer

POST:

Power-On Self-Test

REXIS:

Regolith X-ray Imaging Spectrometer

SBC:

single-board computer

SCLK:

spacecraft clock

TIM:

Time-Interval Meter

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Acknowledgements

There are many important contributors who could not be included in the author list. These contributors include staff at MDA, Teledyne Optech, CSA, York University, University of British Columbia, University of Arizona, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Lockheed Martin and NASA Goddard Spaceflight Center. The instrument build and Canadian science support was provided by a contract with the Canadian Space Agency. The United States team contribution was supported by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration under Contract NNM10AA11C and NNG12FD66C issued through the New Frontiers Program.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Research in Earth and Space Science, York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

    M. G. Daly & J. Seabrook

  2. Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD, USA

    O. S. Barnouin

  3. MDA, Brampton, Ontario, Canada

    C. Dickinson, I. Aslam & A. Taylor

  4. University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

    C. L. Johnson

  5. Teledyne Optech, Vaughn, Ontario, Canada

    G. Cunningham

  6. Canadian Space Agency, St. Hubert, Quebec, Canada

    T. Haltigin, D. Gaudreau & C. Brunet

  7. Lockheed Martin, Denver, CO, USA

    E. B. Bierhaus

  8. University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA

    W. Boynton, M. Nolan & D. S. Lauretta

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Correspondence to M. G. Daly.

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OSIRIS-REx

Edited by Dante Lauretta and Christopher T. Russell

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Daly, M.G., Barnouin, O.S., Dickinson, C. et al. The OSIRIS-REx Laser Altimeter (OLA) Investigation and Instrument. Space Sci Rev 212, 899–924 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-017-0375-3

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