NASA's Lucy Spacecraft Discovers Second Asteroid and Moon During Flyby
NASA's Lucy spacecraft made a "marvelous" discovery during its flyby of the asteroid Dinkinesh, revealing that it is actually a binary system. This encounter served as a test for the spacecraft's tracking abilities and provided valuable data for future missions to explore the Jupiter Trojan asteroids. The larger body of Dinkinesh is estimated to be approximately 0.5 miles wide, while the smaller body is about 0.15 miles in size. The successful test of the terminal tracking system has excited scientists and will help in understanding the nature of small asteroids. The spacecraft will now prepare for its next close-up look at the main belt asteroid Donaldjohanson in 2025 before heading towards the Jupiter Trojan asteroids in 2027.
- Double Surprise: NASA's Lucy Spacecraft Makes “Marvelous” Discovery During Asteroid Dinkinesh Flyby SciTechDaily
- NASA’s Lucy mission makes ‘marvelous’ discovery of second asteroid during Dinkinesh flyby Fox Weather
- Photos: NASA’s Lucy Mission Finds Dinkinesh Asteroid Has a Moon The New York Times
- Colorado spacecraft takes unscheduled flyby of mystery asteroid 9NEWS
- NASA's Lucy Spacecraft Successfully Completes First Asteroid Flyby SciTechDaily
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