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NASA’s Lucy mission recently made its inaugural rendezvous with a celestial object. The spacecraft, launched in October 2021, successfully completed a flyby of the diminutive asteroid Dinkinesh, according to confirmation from the agency. Lucy approached as close as 265 miles (425 kilometers) to the asteroid’s surface during its nearest encounter, anticipated to take place at 12:54 p.m. ET. Over the coming days, Earth will receive the data and images collected during this mission.
Dinkinesh, approximately half a mile (1 kilometer) wide, resides in the primary asteroid belt positioned between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. It was first detected in 1999 by the LINEAR program, a collaboration among NASA, the US Air Force, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology dedicated to identifying potentially hazardous asteroids.
Hal Levison, Lucy’s principal investigator at the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, expressed excitement about examining an object that has thus far only been visible as a blurry smudge through telescopes. This encounter offers humanity its premiere opportunity to unravel the mysteries of Dinkinesh.
As part of its 12-year expedition, Lucy will encounter a total of 10 asteroids. Unlike recent missions that paused to orbit each asteroid, like OSIRIS-REx, Lucy will swiftly fly by these space rocks at speeds of around 10,000 miles per hour (4.5 kilometers per second). This approach enables the spacecraft to test its suite of instruments efficiently.
The information gathered from Dinkinesh will assist astronomers in determining the connections between larger main belt asteroids and smaller near-Earth asteroids, some of which may pose a threat to our planet. This research holds the potential to safeguard Earth against potential hazards.
Jupiter’s Trojan asteroid swarms remain uncharted territory for exploration. These swarms, named after figures from Greek mythology, consist of two separate groups—those that trail behind Jupiter and those that lead the way as Jupiter moves around the sun.
Up until now, detailed depictions of the Trojans have primarily relied on artistic renderings and animations due to their significant distance from Earth. Lucy will change this by providing high-resolution images that unveil the appearance of these asteroids.
As a warm-up to its exploration of the Trojans, Lucy will first fly by Dinkinesh and then another main belt asteroid called Donaldjohanson in 2025. During the close encounter with Dinkinesh, the Lucy mission team monitored the spacecraft closely from Earth. The team relied on the terminal-tracking system, enabling autonomous tracking and continuous observation of the asteroid.
Lucy employed various instruments, including color and black-and-white cameras, a thermometer, and an infrared imaging spectrometer, to study the asteroid’s surface. Communication with Earth occurred via the spacecraft’s antenna.
Following its closest approach, Lucy will continue capturing images of Dinkinesh for approximately an hour, periodically transmitting the collected data back to Earth over the next four days.
Amy Mainzer, a professor at the University of Arizona and coauthor of a recent study on Dinkinesh, emphasizes the significance of studying this small main belt asteroid. The examination of Dinkinesh and its similarities to potentially hazardous near-Earth objects aids in understanding the formation of these asteroids and their connection to larger main belt asteroids.
Lucy’s next steps involve orbiting the sun and utilizing the gravitational pull of Earth to propel it back to the main belt for the Donaldjohanson flyby in 2025. The final destination for this mission lies in exploring the Trojan asteroids in 2027. Each asteroid that Lucy encounters differs in size and color, providing a diverse array of data to analyze.
Lucy, named after the famous fossil that shed light on human evolution, aspires to offer a similar breakthrough in understanding the history of our solar system. With approximately 7,000 Trojan asteroids, the largest measuring 160 miles (250 kilometers) across, these celestial bodies serve as remnants of the early solar system. They allow scientists to investigate its formation and gain insight into the current positions of our planets.
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