NASA’s OSIRIS-REx successfully made contact with a 500-metre-wide asteroid named Bennu, though it’s too soon to say whether it collected any material. MDA built the mission’s laser altimeter, which was developed in Toronto. (The Globe and Mail)

Talking point: The MDA device scanned the asteroid’s surface and created a 3D shape model. That allowed scientists to find sites to try and get a sample of the asteroid. Canada, which is a partner in the mission, will receive four per cent of the material, if any, when OSIRIS-REx returns in 2023. A group of Canadian investors including Toronto-based Northern Private Capital and Jim Balsillie bought the Canada-founded MDA from American owners Maxar in a $1-billion deal that closed in April. In June, Ottawa chose the firm to build the next Canadarm. (The company built the first two, including the one found on the back of Canada’s five-dollar bill.) Northern CEO Andrew Lapham told The Globe several months ago that MDA “is highly likely to be a public company again,” indicating an IPO would be less than a decade away.