NASA, which has sent the Lucy spacecraft to space, aims to explore several Trojan asteroids that share Jupiter’s orbit around the sun. Lucy’s closest approach to Donaldjohanson – which has a 4 -kilometer diameter – will happen within a few days.
A and It is six days and less than 80 million kilometers from its second meeting with a space rock, the small asteroid Donaldjohanson of the asteroid belt.
This next event represents an exhaustive essay for Lucy’s main mission in the next decade: the exploration of several Trojan asteroids that share Jupiter’s orbit around the sun.
Lucy’s first meeting with an asteroid – a flyfish of the small asteroid Dinkish, the asteroid belt, and her moon, seal, on November 1, 2023 – provided the team the opportunity to test the systems they will develop during the overflow.
Lucy’s largest approach to Donaldjohahanson – which has a diameter of 4 kilometers – will take place on April 20, at a distance of 960 kilometers.
About 30 minutes before his closest approach, Lucy will guide to follow the asteroid trail, during which her high gain antenna will move away from Earth, suspending communications.
Guided by your follow -up system, Lucy will autonomously run to keep Donaldjohanson in sight. In doing so, Lucy will perform a more complex observation sequence than that used in Dinkinesh.
Sunlight requires care
Unlike Dinkish, Lucy will cease to locate Donaldjohahanson 40 seconds before her closer approach to protecting her sensitive instruments from intense sunlight.
“If you were sitting on the asteroid watching the Lucy probe approaching, I would have to protect your eyes looking at the sun while waiting for Lucy to get out of the brightness. After Lucy passes through the asteroid, her positions will reverse, so we need to protect our instruments in the same way,” Michael Vincent, leader of the Swri (Sudoeste investigation institute), explained.
These instruments are designed to photograph objects illuminated by 25 times weaker sunlight than that of the earth, so looking at the sun can damage the cameras.
Fortunately, this is the only one of Lucy’s seven Asteroid meetings with this complex geometry. During the meetings with Trojans, as with Dinkinesh, the probe will be able to collect data throughout the meeting.
After the closer approach, the spacecraft will “back down” by reorienting its solar panels toward the sun. About an hour later, the probe will restore communication with the earth.
