A Colorado-built spacecraft that gathered samples from an asteroid was the product to beat in this year's Coolest Thing in Made in Colorado contest.
OSIRIS-REx, a space probe built by Jefferson County-based Lockheed Martin Space, took home first place bragging rights in the Colorado Chamber of Commerce competition, the organization announced at its annual meeting on Thursday.
The second annual contest drew 100 nominations for products manufactured across the state. That list was then narrowed down to 10 by an independent selection committee, bringing products to the spotlight such as a new kind of guitar called the Dobrato, a wearable device that accelerates healing with light therapy, and a lavender chocolate bar.
The Osiris-REx space probe returned from a NASA mission with samples such as sand, particles and other matter collected from the surface of the asteroid Bennu.
The $400 million space probe had already ejected a sample container back through Earth’s atmosphere on Sept. 24. after first landing on the asteroid in 2020. The spacecraft first launched on Sept. 8, 2016, in the hopes of offering more insights into the early formation of the solar system and the origins of life on Earth, according to a news release.
"This is the first time that the United States will ever bring back a sample from an asteroid," said Sierra Gonzales, a systems engineer for Lockheed Martin, in a video interview for the contest. "To do something that nobody has ever done before in our history is an incredible experience."
The runner-up winner this year was OcuLenz by Ocutrx Vision Technologies, Inc. The Colorado Springs company, founded in 2016, was made for people with advanced macular degeneration. The company developed a lightweight headset that uses augmented reality and mixed reality to project a coherent image for the user.
The Chamber also put the Coolest Thing contest to a popular vote. DNA Vibe’s Jazz Band was the winner in that category. The company produced a wearable device that uses light therapy to prevent injury and accelerate a user’s recovery from major events like surgery or day-to-day recuperation.
