Lucy spacecraft will observe huge asteroids in the Trojan swarm.
, on its way to Jupiter’s Trojan asteroids, was launched in 2021. Once at the rocky location the craft will explore the region and send back data and images on how our solar system formed.The journey to that distant locale is a complex one, needing the Earth’s gravity to “slingshot” the craft at a high speed for a second gravity assist, again around Earth, in two years time. This will set the NASA craft on a course for Jupiter.
This low fly-by will offer watchers in Western Australia and the Western USA a chance to see Lucy in her quick trek across the atmosphere.The fly-by doesn’t come risk-free, as Lucy must navigate around Earth-orbiting satellites, and dodge a large amount of space debris. To prevent a potentially catastrophic collision, NASA has developed a system capable of anticipating potential hazards. Lucy is designed to execute small maneuvers to avoid collisions.
Lucy will continue her journey over the Pacific Ocean in darkness and emerge again from the shadows of the Earth at 7:26 am ET . At this juncture if skies are clear, star gazers can get a glimpse of Lucy through binoculars as she arrives in the southwestern sky.Lucy principal investigator at the Colorado-based Southwest Research Institute. “It is exciting that we will be able to stand here in Colorado and see the spacecraft again. And this time Lucy will be in the sky.
Once there she will observe the asteroid Donaldjohanson before heading into the leading Trojan asteroid swarm. There NASA will observe Lucy passing by six Trojan asteroids.At this point Lucy will break away from the asteroid swarm and head back towards Earth for a third gravity-assist maneuver in 2030. That will send the spacecraft hurdling towards the Patroclus-Menoetius binary asteroid pair in the trailing Trojan asteroid swarm.
The NASA solar system webpage is tracking Lucy in relation to the Earth Orbit, with real-time animation of Lucy’s journey around the Earth, and her slingshot into space.
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