All articles tagged with #lucy spacecraft
NASA's Lucy spacecraft flyby of asteroid Donaldjohanson led to the official naming of its geological features, with names inspired by human origins and significant paleoanthropological sites, highlighting the connection between space exploration and human history.
NASA's Lucy spacecraft's visit to the asteroid Dinkinesh and its companion Selam has revealed significant insights into their history and structure, aiding our understanding of early planetary formation.
NASA's Lucy spacecraft discovered that the asteroid Dinkinesh, also known as "Dinky," has a satellite named Selam, which is actually a contact binary composed of two moons stuck together. This finding challenges existing theories about asteroid formation and provides new insights into the internal structure and dynamics of these celestial bodies. The discovery was detailed in a paper published in Nature, highlighting the complexity of small celestial bodies and their role in understanding planetary formation.
NASA's Lucy spacecraft, on its way to study Trojan asteroids, unexpectedly discovered that its first asteroid target, Dinkinesh, is actually a trio of rocks, with its satellite Selam being two objects melded together. Preliminary results from the encounter suggest that Dinkinesh and Selam are roughly the same age, have similar ridges on their equators, and are likely fragments of larger objects. Scientists have inferred Dinkinesh to be 7 million years old and Selam about 2 million years old, shedding light on the formation and evolution of these small asteroids.
NASA's Lucy spacecraft, on a mission to investigate asteroids from the solar system's formation, has successfully completed a crucial engine burn to redirect its trajectory back toward Earth for a gravity assist in December 2024. This maneuver will propel Lucy toward the Trojan asteroids, making it the first spacecraft to visit these objects. With over half of its fuel expended, Lucy will receive a boost from Earth to reach the Trojans, following which it will continue to explore several asteroids, including double systems and moonlets, before concluding its prime mission in 2033.
NASA's Lucy spacecraft, on its way to investigate ancient asteroids called the Trojans, discovered that one of its non-Trojan targets, asteroid Dinky, is actually a binary system with its own moon named Selam. To everyone's surprise, Selam itself has a moon, making it the first contact-binary orbiting an asteroid. The Lucy team has now confirmed the name Selam for Dinky's moon, in honor of a fossil nicknamed "Lucy's baby." Further study of Dinky and Selam will help scientists understand how this unique system formed.
NASA's Lucy spacecraft, on its mission to explore Jupiter's Trojan asteroids, captured its first-ever asteroid encounter, revealing a surprise. The spacecraft's Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (L'LORRI) returned an image of what was initially thought to be a single asteroid, but further analysis showed that it was actually a contact binary, consisting of two smaller objects touching each other. This is the first time a contact binary has been observed orbiting another asteroid. The larger asteroid, Dinkinesh, is about half a mile wide, while its small satellite is about 0.15 miles in size. The discovery adds to the excitement of the Lucy mission, which aims to study the Trojan asteroids and prepare for future encounters.
NASA's Lucy spacecraft, on its mission to survey Jupiter Trojan asteroids, made an unexpected discovery during its first encounter with the asteroid Dinkinesh. The team found that Dinkinesh's satellite is a contact binary, composed of two smaller objects touching each other. This is the first time a contact binary has been observed orbiting another asteroid. The discovery was made through multiple perspectives captured by Lucy's imaging system, providing insights into the asteroids' shapes. The team is excited to unravel the mysteries of this bizarre system and continue exploring the remaining 10 asteroids on Lucy's 12-year journey.
NASA's Lucy spacecraft, on its mission to explore asteroids near Jupiter, discovered that the asteroid Dinkinesh is not one, but two objects. Further analysis revealed that Dinkinesh's smaller satellite is a contact binary, meaning the two smaller objects are in contact with each other. This makes Dinkinesh a triple-component system, which is puzzling to scientists. Contact binary systems are common in the solar system, but this is the first time one has been observed orbiting another asteroid. Lucy will continue its mission to study other asteroids and the Trojan asteroids in the coming years.
NASA's Lucy spacecraft, on a mission to study Jupiter's asteroids, captured a surprising image of the asteroid Dinkinesh near Mars, revealing the presence of a small moon orbiting it. The discovery was made during a flyby in Mars' main asteroid belt, approximately 300 million miles away. Dinkinesh measures just half a mile across, while its moon is about one-tenth of a mile across. This finding was a rehearsal for a larger mission to explore the mysterious asteroids near Jupiter. The Lucy spacecraft is expected to reach the first of the Trojan asteroids in 2027 and study them for at least six years.
NASA's Lucy spacecraft successfully completed a flyby of the asteroid Dinkinesh, the first of 10 asteroids it will encounter on its journey to Jupiter. Lucy's main objective is to study the Trojans, swarms of unexplored asteroids near Jupiter that are believed to be remnants from the early solar system. The spacecraft will pass by eight larger Trojans before concluding its mission in 2033. Despite a loose solar wing, Lucy is expected to continue its mission without any major issues.
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.
NASA's Lucy spacecraft, on its way to explore Jupiter Trojan asteroids, made an unexpected discovery during its flyby of the small main belt asteroid Dinkinesh. The first images returned by Lucy revealed that Dinkinesh is actually a binary pair, consisting of a larger body approximately 0.5 miles wide and a smaller body about 0.15 miles in size. This encounter served as an engineering test for the spacecraft's tracking system, which successfully autonomously tracked the asteroid as it flew past at 10,000 mph. The data collected will provide valuable insights into the nature of small asteroids.
NASA's Lucy spacecraft, on a 12-year mission to explore Jupiter's Trojan asteroids, successfully completed its first high-speed encounter with a small main belt asteroid called Dinkinesh. The spacecraft "phoned home" to NASA and is considered to be in good health. Data obtained during the encounter will be relayed to researchers over the next week to assess Lucy's performance. Multiple instruments on the spacecraft were activated during the encounter, including a high-resolution camera, color imager, and infrared spectrometer. Lucy will continue to periodically observe Dinkinesh for another four days as it moves away from the asteroid.
NASA's Lucy spacecraft has successfully completed its first flyby of asteroid Dinkinesh, marking a milestone in its mission to visit 10 asteroids over the next 12 years. The spacecraft, part of NASA's Lucy mission to uncover secrets of the solar system's past, will study Trojan asteroids orbiting the sun alongside Jupiter. The flyby of Dinkinesh served as a test-run for the spacecraft's instruments, which collected data about the asteroid. The data will be downlinked to Earth over the next week. Lucy will now head back to Earth for a gravity assist before zooming towards its second asteroid target.