What is NASA’s Lucy mission?
Lucy is a space mission launched in October 2021 to study the Jupiter Trojan asteroids. These asteroids are like old leftovers from the early solar system, and they orbit around but not close to Jupiter.
Lucy's main job is to learn about these asteroids. During its 12-year mission, Lucy will study two asteroids in the solar system's main asteroid belt and eight Trojan asteroids.
Where is the Lucy spacecraft currently?
On 1st November 2023, the Lucy spacecraft made its first flyby of a small asteroid named Dinkinesh (very far from Earth). This was like a test to check if Lucy's equipment worked fine before it moved to study the Trojan asteroids.
During this test, Lucy learned important things about Dinkinesh. Scientists will use this information for their research. After this, Lucy will come back to Earth for a gravity assist, which will help push it to the Trojan asteroids.
Lucy’s first Trojan asteroid flyby will happen in 2027. Dinkinesh is not a Trojan asteroid. It's an asteroid located in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.
What are the Trojan asteroids?
Scientists think the Trojan asteroids are made from the same materials that created Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. So, these asteroids can provide information regarding our solar system's history and how all the planets formed and developed.
These asteroids also have different surface materials, which means they were formed in different parts of our solar system and then moved to where they are now.
For a really long time, they've been stuck going around the Sun with Jupiter. The Lucy spacecraft has various equipment to help study the asteroids.
What equipment does the Lucy spacecraft have?
The equipment on board includes a camera for taking pictures of the asteroids. There's another piece of equipment that helps search the surface of the Trojan asteroids.
There's also equipment that measures the temperature at different spots on an asteroid. This data will help scientists learn about the asteroid's physical features and more.
Lucy has an antenna to communicate with Earth. It has another camera that helps it find its way and track the asteroids. This camera will also take pictures of the asteroids to show what they look like.
