Watch: NASA Mission Captures First Close Look At Peanut-Shaped Asteroid
This fly-by was a crucial milestone as it prepares for its primary mission of exploring Jupiter's Trojan asteroids.
The spacecraft took high-resolution images using its L'LORRI imager a few minutes before its closest approach to the peanut-shaped space rock. The images show that Donaldjohanson has an elongated shape, resembling a peanut with a rough and cratered surface.
The images show that the asteroid is larger than previously thought - it is approximately 8 km long and 3.5 km wide at its widest point. It rotates very slowly, with one rotation completed in 251 hours. The Lucy mission team is analysing the data collected during the fly-by to better understand the asteroid's structure and composition, according to a statement by the space agency.
Sharing the image, NASA wrote, 'Asteroid Donaldjohanson as seen by the Lucy spacecraft from a range of about 1,700 miles (2,700 km), about 3.2 minutes before closest approach on April 20, 2025. This is the highest resolution image yet of the entire asteroid, taken just before it overfilled the L'LORRI field of view. The smallest visible features are about 130 feet (40 meters) across. The illumination conditions, with the Sun almost behind Lucy, greatly reduce the contrast of topographic details.'
The asteroid is named after anthropologist Donald Johanson, who discovered the fossilised skeleton — called 'Lucy' — of a human ancestor. NASA's Lucy mission is named for the fossil, the agency said.
NASA scientists said the "successful dress rehearsal" proves the team and spacecraft were ready for their main objective - exploring the Jupiter Trojan asteroids. The spacecraft is now in a quiet cruise period, travelling through the main asteroid belt at over 30,000 mph (50,000 km/h).
When Lucy reaches the Trojan asteroids, it will make four encounters and observe at least six asteroids (including two satellites identified by the Lucy team) in less than 15 months. The first encounter will take place in August 2027, with the asteroid Eurybates.
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