All articles tagged with #lucy mission
NASA's Lucy spacecraft visited the asteroid Donaldjohanson, named after the paleoanthropologist who discovered Lucy, and has named its features after significant human evolutionary sites, as it journeys towards studying Jupiter's Trojan asteroids to enhance our understanding of solar system evolution.
NASA's Lucy mission captured the first full image of the peanut-shaped asteroid Donaldjohanson during a close flyby, revealing its complex geology and offering insights into asteroid formation and collisional processes, although it is not the mission's primary target. The encounter serves as a rehearsal for future missions to Jupiter's Trojan asteroids, with the next major milestone set for August 2027.
NASA's Lucy mission discovered a contact binary named Selam orbiting the asteroid Dinkinesh, marking the first such discovery. The findings, published in Nature, reveal complexities in Dinkinesh and Selam that could reshape our understanding of asteroid and planet formation. The study highlights how these small bodies' internal structures and behaviors during collisions are crucial for understanding planetary formation. Lucy's mission will continue with future encounters, including the Trojan asteroids around Jupiter.
NASA's Lucy spacecraft discovered that the asteroid Dinkinesh, also known as "Dinky," has an ultra-rare double moon named Selam, which is a contact binary. This discovery was made during a flyby on November 1, 2023, and researchers have proposed a model explaining Selam's formation. The findings, published in Nature, provide new insights into asteroid formation and could help understand planetary formation.
NASA's Lucy spacecraft has discovered that asteroid 152830 Dinkinesh, nicknamed 'Dinky,' has a small moon named Selam, which is a contact binary. This moon likely formed from material spun off Dinkinesh due to the YORP effect, which increased the asteroid's rotation. The findings provide insights into the formation of asteroid moons and are published in Nature.
NASA's Lucy spacecraft will fire its main engines in space for the first time since its launch in August 2021, burning through around half of its onboard fuel. This maneuver aims to change Lucy's velocity by around 2,000 miles per hour. The spacecraft will then undergo a flyby of Earth in December 2024 to receive a gravity assist, altering its trajectory to explore the Trojan asteroids near Jupiter.
NASA's Lucy spacecraft, on a mission to explore the Trojan asteroids, will fire its main engines in space for the first time this week, burning through half of its onboard fuel. This will be followed by a larger maneuver to change its velocity, setting it on a new trajectory to visit various asteroids and moonlets, including a flyby of Earth in 2024. The spacecraft will then head towards the Trojan asteroids, with the mission concluding in 2033 after visiting multiple asteroids and moonlets.
NASA's Lucy mission, during its first asteroid flyby, discovered that the small moon orbiting the main belt asteroid Dinkinesh is actually two moons that appear as one because they are touching. Dinkinesh is the smallest main belt asteroid ever explored by a spacecraft, and its moons are approximately the same size, which is unusual for contact binaries. Scientists are intrigued by how these equally-sized bodies stick together gravitationally and are eager to study them further. This unexpected finding demonstrates that Lucy's equipment is working well, and the mission will continue to survey other asteroids in the future.
NASA's Lucy mission, which recently flew by the small asteroid Dinkinesh, has made a surprising discovery. Initially believed to be part of a binary pair, new images reveal that Dinkinesh is actually a contact binary, consisting of two smaller asteroids touching each other. The close approach was primarily a test for the spacecraft's equipment, but the unexpected finding has left scientists puzzled. Lucy's main goal is to survey the Trojan asteroids around Jupiter, and its next close encounter will be with another main belt asteroid in 2025 before heading towards the Trojans in 2027.
NASA's Lucy mission, which recently flew by the small asteroid Dinkinesh, has made a "puzzling" discovery. Initial images suggested that Dinkinesh was part of a binary pair, with a smaller asteroid orbiting it. However, subsequent images revealed that the smaller asteroid is actually a contact binary, two smaller space rocks that touch each other. This unexpected finding has surprised scientists and will provide valuable insights into the formation and composition of asteroids. The Lucy mission aims to survey the Trojan asteroids around Jupiter and will continue its exploration in the coming years.
NASA's Lucy mission, en route to explore the Trojan asteroids, has successfully completed its first high-speed encounter with an asteroid called Dinkinesh. The mission, designed to study the pristine building blocks of planets, discovered that Dinkinesh is actually an "asteroid binary," with a smaller asteroid orbiting a larger one. Lucy's powerful cameras will observe the composition, mass, and geologic history of the Trojans to understand their role in the formation of our solar system. The next asteroid encounter is scheduled for 2025, with the mission reaching the first Trojan in 2027.
NASA's Lucy mission, designed to explore Jupiter's Trojan asteroid swarms, encountered a surprise when it flew by the small asteroid Dinkinesh in the main asteroid belt. What was initially thought to be a single asteroid turned out to be a binary pair of space rocks. The larger asteroid is estimated to be half a mile wide, while the smaller one is 0.15 miles across. The close approach allowed Lucy to test its equipment and collect data on small asteroids, providing valuable insights for future missions. Lucy's ultimate goal is to provide high-resolution images of the Trojan asteroids, shedding light on the formation of our solar system.
NASA's Lucy spacecraft, on its mission to explore the Trojan asteroids associated with Jupiter, made a surprising discovery during its flyby of the asteroid Dinkinesh. The spacecraft's cameras revealed another small asteroid orbiting Dinkinesh, making it a binary asteroid system. This unexpected finding brings the total number of asteroids Lucy will fly by to 11, exceeding the original plan of seven. The images captured during the flyby provide detailed views of the asteroid pair, and further analysis of the data will be conducted to investigate the similarities and differences with other binary asteroid systems.
NASA's Lucy mission, which aims to study "Trojan" asteroids that share Jupiter's orbit, is set to make its first asteroid flyby on Wednesday. The spacecraft will come within 265 miles of the small main belt asteroid Dinkinesh, testing its tracking system and collecting data as it speeds by at 10,000 mph. This flyby is significant as it will determine if the tracking system is functioning properly. Lucy is named after the Lucy hominin fossils, and Dinkinesh was proposed as the name for the asteroid by the Lucy mission scientists, in reference to the Ethiopian name for the Lucy fossils.
NASA's LUCY mission, which launched in 2021, has captured the first images of its asteroid targets, including Eurybates, Polymele, Leucus, and Orus. LUCY is on a 12-year mission to study the Jupiter Trojan asteroids, a group of space rocks orbiting the sun with the gas giant. The spacecraft will visit six Trojan asteroids between 2027 and 2028, before heading off to the pair of giant asteroids known as Patroclus-Menoetius. The mission takes its name from the fossilized human ancestor named "Lucy," which provided unique insights into humanity's evolution, akin to what scientists hope the spacecraft LUCY will do for the solar system.