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NASA readies Lucy, a 12-year mission to study ancient asteroids for a Saturday launch

Named for the fossilized human ancestor, Lucy will be the first mission to study Trojan asteroids, believed to 4 billion year left overs from the formation of the solar system.

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NASA's Lucy mission will study Trojan asteroids dating back to the formation of the solar system
By
Tony Rice
, NASA Ambassador

NASA is preparing to launch a mission to study something we’ve not had the ability to study up close before, Trojan asteroids, thought to be remnants from the formation of the outer planets.

These swarms of asteroids orbit the Sun along the same path as Jupiter, in two loose groups, one leading, the other trailing Jupiter.

Trojan asteroids make exciting targets for study because they are essentially undisturbed since the solar system's formation more than 4 billion years ago.

The mission takes its name from the fossilized human ancestor discovered in Ethiopia whose skeleton provided insight into humanity's evolution. Scientists hope to find clues which will provide more information about the early history of the solar system.

Instruments

  • Lucy Thermal Emissions Spectrometer (L’TES) will study the surfaces of Trojans asteroids, helping scientists better understand sizes of the rocky gains layers. Based on a version currently flying on the OSIRIS-REx mission,
  • L’Ralph looks for the mineral makeup of an asteroid using a camera that can see in the visible spectrum and beyond along with an infrared imaging spectrometer.  Based on Ralph instruments currently flying on the New Horizons and OSIRIS-REX missions, the name comes from its companion New Horizons instrument Alice.
  • Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (L’LORRI) is a clone of the New Horizons instrument which provided iconic images of Pluto. It will provide detailed surface images that will help scientists in understanding the geological features and crater counts, and help determine the age of the Trojans.

12 years, 8 asteroids, 1 spacecraft

Over 12-years, including a boost from Earth’s gravity, Lucy will visit eight different asteroids, including a Main Belt asteroid as well as seven Trojans. This will include both leading and trailing Trojans and give us our first close-up view of all three major types of asteroids.

This diagram illustrates Lucy's orbital path. The spacecraft's path (green) is shown in a frame of reference where Jupiter remains stationary, giving the trajectory its pretzel-like shape. After launch in October 2021, Lucy has two close Earth flybys before encountering its Trojan targets. In the L4 cloud Lucy will fly by (3548) Eurybates (white) and its satellite, (15094) Polymele (pink), (11351) Leucus (red), and (21900) Orus (red) from 2027-2028. After diving past Earth again Lucy will visit the L5 cloud and encounter the (617) Patroclus-Menoetius binary (pink) in 2033. As a bonus, in 2025 on the way to the L4, Lucy flies by a small Main Belt asteroid, (52246) Donaldjohanson (white), named for the discoverer of the Lucy fossil. After flying by the Patroclus-Menoetius binary in 2033, Lucy will continue cycling between the two Trojan clouds every six years. Credit: Southwest Research Institute/NASA
Eight asteroids representing a variety of types visited including 7 Trojans and one from the main asteroid belt. This includes common ancient asteroids made of clay and silicate (C-type) along with asteroids with low albedos or reflectivity, which may be rich in organic molecules (D-type and P-type)
Lucy's seven targets: the binary asteroid Patroclus/Menoetius, Eurybates, Orus, Leucus, Polymele, and the main belt asteroid DonaldJohanson. Credit: NASA GSFC Scientific Visualization Studio

Scientist expect to find lots of dark carbon compounds in these asteroids. They also believe there may be water and other volatile substances under a blanket of dust.

Whats next for Lucy

Lucy arrived at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida on July 30, aboard a US Air Force C-17 cargo plane. The spacecraft spent the next few weeks undergoing final checks, fueling, and was encapsulated in its 4 meter (13.7 foot) wide payload faring on September 29th.

Launch is planned for Saturday, Oct. 16 at 5:34 a.m. EDT, the opening of a three-week launch period. The rockets path will take it nearly due east so it will be most visible from Florida.

 Credits 

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