Exploring the Cosmos: NASA's Lucy to Encounter Its First of 10 Asteroids
NASA's Lucy mission is set to make its first close encounter with an asteroid, providing scientists with vital information about the composition and surface features of Dinkinesh Don't miss this intriguing mission exploring the Trojans!
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Prepare for the imminent debut encounter of the NASA Lucy mission with a celestial body.
The spacecraft, which was launched in October 2021, is scheduled to make a close flyby of the small asteroid Dinkinesh on Wednesday. Lucy will come within 265 miles (425 kilometers) of the surface of the asteroid during its closest approach, which is estimated to happen at 12:54 p.m. ET. The data and images from the mission will be sent back to Earth over the course of the next few days.
Dinkinesh, a space rock located in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, is approximately half a mile wide (1 kilometer). It was initially discovered in 1999 by the LINEAR program, a joint effort by NASA, the US Air Force, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The program aims to identify potentially dangerous asteroids. A statement by Hal Levison, Lucy's principal investigator at the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, expressed excitement for Lucy's first close examination of Dinkinesh, which has thus far only been observed as a blurry image in the best telescopes. This marks the first time that humanity will truly see Dinkinesh.
Dinkinesh marks the commencement of Lucy's 12-year expedition, during which it will encounter 10 asteroids. Unlike previous missions that involved orbiting each space rock, such as OSIRIS-REx, Lucy will swiftly pass by these celestial bodies at a remarkable velocity of 10,000 miles per hour (4.5 kilometers per second).
The OSIRIS-REx sample collector offers a glimpse of the exterior. Visible on the middle right is the material obtained from asteroid Bennu, revealing signs of carbon and water in preliminary examination. The majority of the sample is situated indoors.
NASA has announced an extraordinary revelation, stating that an unparalleled asteroid sample comprises vital elements. This groundbreaking discovery will assist in the comprehensive evaluation of the Lucy spacecraft's equipment. Furthermore, the data extracted from Dinkinesh will aid astronomers in establishing connections between larger main belt asteroids and smaller near-Earth asteroids, some of which might pose a potential threat to Earth.
Lucy's primary objective is to investigate the uncharted Trojan asteroid swarms of Jupiter. These swarms, named after characters from Greek mythology, consist of two groups: one that leads the orbit of Jupiter, the colossal planet in our solar system, and another that trails behind it.
Until now, our understanding of the Trojans has been limited to artistic representations or simulations, as these celestial bodies are too far away to be examined closely with telescopes. Lucy will revolutionize our knowledge by capturing and transmitting high-resolution images portraying the actual appearance of these asteroids.
What an asteroid flyby can tell scientists
Before exploring the Trojans, Lucy will flex its instruments when it flies by Dinkinesh and then another main belt asteroid called Donaldjohanson in 2025.
While Lucy soars past Dinkinesh, the mission team will diligently oversee the spacecraft's systems from Earth, specifically its terminal-tracking system. This ingenious feature enables the spacecraft to independently track and maintain a constant visual on the space rock.
Utilizing an array of color and black-and-white cameras, a thermometer, and an infrared imaging spectrometer, Lucy will meticulously observe the surface of the asteroids. Additionally, the spacecraft will establish communication with Earth through its antenna.
This illustration depicts the swarms of Trojan asteroids that exist in the same orbit as Jupiter.
After its closest encounter with Dinkinesh, the spacecraft will continue capturing images of the celestial body for an additional hour. Subsequently, it will intermittently transmit data back to Earth while regularly taking photographs over the next four days.
Mark Effertz, the chief engineer of Lucy at Lockheed Martin Space in Littleton, Colorado, stated that due to the vast distance between Lucy and Earth, radio signals take approximately 30 minutes to travel, making it impossible to command an asteroid encounter in real-time.
University of Arizona
Asteroid named for Egyptian god of chaos and darkness set for spacecraft flyby
Astronomers plan to utilize the data obtained from Dinkinesh's close approach in order to enhance their understanding of small near-Earth asteroids and their potential connection to larger main belt asteroids.
"Dinkinesh, the smallest main belt asteroid under close examination, has the potential to offer significant insights into this category of celestial objects," stated Amy Mainzer, professor at the University of Arizona and coauthor of a recent study on the asteroid. "These main-belt asteroids, similar in size to the potentially dangerous near-Earth objects, present an opportunity to better comprehend the formation of small main-belt asteroids and the origin of near-Earth asteroids."
Following the Dinkinesh flyby, Lucy will enter an orbit around the sun and then approach Earth, utilizing the gravitational force of the planet to propel itself back towards the main belt. This trajectory is aimed at reaching the Trojan asteroids in 2027, after the Donaldjohanson flyby scheduled for 2025. It is worth noting that each of the asteroids Lucy encounters during its journey exhibits variations in both size and color.
These are some of the asteroids that the Lucy mission will fly by over the next 12 years.
The mission is named after the Lucy fossil, which was found in Ethiopia in 1974 and is the remains of an ancient human ancestor. This fossil has been crucial in understanding human evolution, and the team members of NASA's Lucy mission aim to achieve a similar breakthrough in studying the history of our solar system.
There are approximately 7,000 Trojan asteroids, with the largest measuring 160 miles (250 kilometers) in diameter. These asteroids can be considered as remnants, akin to fossils, that remain in our solar system after the formation of the giant planets such as Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.
Despite sharing the same orbital path as Jupiter, these asteroids are significantly distant from the planet itself, almost as far as Jupiter's distance from the sun, as stated by NASA.
The mission will help researchers effectively peer back in time to learn how the solar system formed 4.5 billion years ago and unlock how our planets ended up in their current spots.
