NASA's Lucy spacecraft is speeding toward another close encounter with an asteroid

This representation from video animation provided by NASA successful October 2022 depicts the Lucy spacecraft. (NASA via AP)

AP

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA’s Lucy spacecraft volition swoop past a tiny asteroid this play arsenic it makes its mode to an adjacent bigger prize: the unexplored swarms of asteroids retired adjacent Jupiter.

It volition beryllium the 2nd asteroid brushwood for Lucy, launched successful 2021 connected a quest that volition instrumentality it to 11 abstraction rocks. The adjacent approaches should assistance scientists amended recognize our aboriginal star strategy erstwhile planets were forming; asteroids are the past leftovers.

The upcoming flyby is simply a formal rehearsal for 2027 erstwhile Lucy reaches its archetypal alleged Trojan asteroid adjacent Jupiter.

Cranking up its 3 subject instruments, the spacecraft connected Sunday volition observe the harmless asteroid known arsenic Donaldjohanson. The brushwood volition instrumentality spot 139 cardinal miles (223 cardinal kilometers) from Earth successful the main asteroid loop betwixt Mars and Jupiter, truthful acold distant it volition instrumentality 12 minutes for each spot of information to scope formation controllers successful Colorado.

The paleontologist for whom the asteroid is named plans to beryllium astatine spacecraft builder and relation Lockheed Martin’s Mission Control for each the action. He discovered the fossil Lucy successful Ethiopia 50 years ago; the spacecraft is named aft the celebrated quality ancestor.

NASA’s Lucy volition task arsenic adjacent arsenic 596 miles (960 kilometers) to this asteroid, an estimated 2 ½ miles (4 kilometers) successful magnitude but overmuch shorter successful width. Scientists should person a amended thought of its size and signifier pursuing the little visit. The spacecraft volition zoom by astatine much than 30,000 mph (48,000 kph).

The asteroid is among countless fragments believed to person resulted from a large collision 150 cardinal years ago.

“It's not going to beryllium a basal potato. We already cognize that,” said pb idiosyncratic Hal Levison of Southwest Research Institute.

Rather, Levison said the asteroid whitethorn lucifer a bowling pin oregon adjacent a snowman similar Arrokoth, the Kuiper Belt entity visited by NASA's New Horizon spacecraft successful 2019. The different anticipation is that determination are 2 elongated but abstracted asteroids acold apart.

“We don’t cognize what to expect. That’s what makes this truthful cool,” helium said.

There volition beryllium nary communications with Lucy during the flyby arsenic the spacecraft turns its antenna distant from Earth successful bid to way the asteroid. Levison expects to person astir of the subject information wrong a day.

Lucy’s adjacent halt — “the main event,” arsenic Levison calls it — volition beryllium the Trojan asteroids that stock Jupiter’s orbit astir the sun. Swarms of Trojans precede and travel the star system’s largest satellite arsenic it circles the sun. Lucy volition sojourn 8 of them from 2027 done 2033, immoderate of them successful pairs of two.

Lucy’s archetypal asteroid flyby was successful 2023 erstwhile it swept past small Dinkinesh, besides successful the main asteroid belt. The spacecraft discovered a mini satellite astir it.

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