OLA will scan the surface of Bennu at specific intervals in the mission to rapidly map out the entire surface of the asteroid to achieve its primary objective of producing local and global topographic maps.
OLA has a single common receiver and two complementary transmitter assemblies which allow altimetry of this extremely dark object from distances greater than 7km down to 200m.
Unlike previous planetary and asteroid altimeters, OLA has the ability to scan in 2-dimensions and measure at rates of up to 10 000 measurements per second, OLA will provide an unprecedented view of asteroid 1999RQ36 (Bennu).
OLA is being built by our partners MDA and Optech.
