By: KDKA-TV News Staff

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - NASA has announced a partnership with the Pittsburgh-based company Astrobotic to develop sensors that can create a 3D map of spacecraft and planets in real-time.

The sensors will help identify spacecraft or satellites that are not working properly.

"Matching the exact orbital plane, altitude, and speed of another object in space will play a key role in the construction of orbital infrastructure. With ALIN, any type of uncooperative satellite, planetary body, or asteroid, can be autonomously serviced or mapped," said Jeremy Hardy a senior engineer at Astrobotic.

Their goal is to transmit data fast to help with upcoming space missions.