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