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NDTV
04-07-2025
- Science
- NDTV
Watch: NASA Mission Captures First Close Look At Peanut-Shaped Asteroid
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has released the first-ever high-resolution image of the main-belt asteroid Donaldjohanson, highlighting its unique peanut shape. This came after NASA's Lucy mission had a key encounter with this asteroid in the solar system's main asteroid belt on April 20. 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.
Yahoo
21-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
NASA snaps detailed photos of ‘strikingly complicated' asteroid
NASA's Lucy spacecraft had its second rendezvous with an asteroid over the weekend, this time with the uniquely named Donaldjohanson space rock. On April 20, the probe's Lucy Long-Range Reconnaissance Imager (L'LORRI) traveled within about 600 miles of the elongated asteroid while snapping images at roughly two-second intervals. The results showcase the asteroid's 'strikingly complicated geology,' according to Hal Levison, Lucy's principal investigator at the Southwest Research Institute. 'As we study the complex structures in detail, they will reveal important information about the building blocks and collisional processes that formed the planets in our Solar System,' Levison added in a NASA statement on April 21. The first close look at Donaldjohanson appears to confirm astronomers' previous observations, particularly its 10-day brightness variation period. The photos depict an elongated asteroid that likely formed from after the collision of two smaller bodies. That said, researchers noted the unique neck shape connecting Donaldjohanson's two lobes. The asteroid also appears to be larger than initial estimates—measuring about 5 miles long and 2 miles wide. Donaldjohanson was actually wider than Lucy's field of view, and it will take about a week for the remaining data to downlink to Earth. This additional information will be parsed from information collected by L'Ralph color imager and infrared spectrometer as well as the L'TES thermal infrared spectrometer. Lucy's latest asteroid encounter took place roughly 16 months after passing within 230 miles of Dinkinesh (aka 'Dinky') and its 'baby asteroid' satellite, Selam. Donaldjohanson is the second of 10 asteroids scheduled to be studied on Lucy's 12-year-long mission. 'The potential to really open a new window into the history of our solar system when Lucy gets to the Trojan asteroids is immense,' said Tom Statler, a NASA program scientist for the Lucy will now spend most of the rest of 2025 hurtling through the solar system's main asteroid belt as it closes in on its main target–the Jupiter Trojan asteroid Eurybates. The spacecraft's final flyby is on track to take place in August 2027.
India Today
21-04-2025
- Science
- India Today
Nasa's Lucy flies close to asteroid Donaldjohanson before heading to Trojans
Due to the vast distance — Lucy was about 12.5 light minutes away from Earth — radio signals took over 12 minutes to travel between the spacecraft and mission control. (Photo: Nasa) During the flyby, the spacecraft's high-gain antenna turned away from Earth Lucy autonomously locked onto Donaldjohanson using its Terminal Tracking System After passing the asteroid, it reoriented its solar arrays Nasa's Lucy spacecraft completed a close flyby of the small main belt asteroid Donaldjohanson, marking a critical milestone in its 12-year mission to explore Jupiter's Trojan asteroids. The spacecraft approached the asteroid at a closest distance of approximately 960 kilometers, executing a complex observational sequence designed to simulate its upcoming encounters with the Trojan asteroids. About 30 minutes before the closest approach, Lucy autonomously locked onto Donaldjohanson using its Terminal Tracking System, which allowed it to rotate and keep the asteroid in view throughout the encounter. During this time, the spacecraft's high-gain antenna turned away from Earth, suspending direct communication. This autonomous tracking ensured that Lucy's three onboard science instruments â€' the high-resolution greyscale imager L'LORRI, the colour and infrared imager L'Ralph, and the far-infrared spectrometer L'TES â€' could gather detailed data about the asteroid's surface and composition. To protect its sensitive instruments from intense sunlight, Lucy ceased tracking Donaldjohanson about 40 seconds before closest approach, a unique precaution due to the challenging geometry of this encounter. After passing the asteroid, the spacecraft reoriented its solar arrays toward the Sun and reestablished communication with Earth roughly an hour later. Due to the vast distance â€' Lucy was about 12.5 light minutes away from Earth â€' radio signals took over 12 minutes to travel between the spacecraft and mission control. Consequently, the data collected during the flyby will be transmitted back to Earth over several days as engineers command the spacecraft to downlink the information. Donaldjohanson, a roughly three-mile-wide asteroid named after the paleontologist who discovered the Lucy fossil, is believed to be a fragment from a collision about 150 million years ago, making it one of the youngest main belt asteroids visited by a spacecraft. The flyby will provide valuable insights into its shape, surface geology, and cratering history, contributing to a broader understanding of solar system formation and evolution. Nasa's Lucy spacecraft completed a close flyby of the small main belt asteroid Donaldjohanson, marking a critical milestone in its 12-year mission to explore Jupiter's Trojan asteroids. The spacecraft approached the asteroid at a closest distance of approximately 960 kilometers, executing a complex observational sequence designed to simulate its upcoming encounters with the Trojan asteroids. About 30 minutes before the closest approach, Lucy autonomously locked onto Donaldjohanson using its Terminal Tracking System, which allowed it to rotate and keep the asteroid in view throughout the encounter. During this time, the spacecraft's high-gain antenna turned away from Earth, suspending direct communication. This autonomous tracking ensured that Lucy's three onboard science instruments â€' the high-resolution greyscale imager L'LORRI, the colour and infrared imager L'Ralph, and the far-infrared spectrometer L'TES â€' could gather detailed data about the asteroid's surface and composition. To protect its sensitive instruments from intense sunlight, Lucy ceased tracking Donaldjohanson about 40 seconds before closest approach, a unique precaution due to the challenging geometry of this encounter. After passing the asteroid, the spacecraft reoriented its solar arrays toward the Sun and reestablished communication with Earth roughly an hour later. Due to the vast distance â€' Lucy was about 12.5 light minutes away from Earth â€' radio signals took over 12 minutes to travel between the spacecraft and mission control. Consequently, the data collected during the flyby will be transmitted back to Earth over several days as engineers command the spacecraft to downlink the information. Donaldjohanson, a roughly three-mile-wide asteroid named after the paleontologist who discovered the Lucy fossil, is believed to be a fragment from a collision about 150 million years ago, making it one of the youngest main belt asteroids visited by a spacecraft. The flyby will provide valuable insights into its shape, surface geology, and cratering history, contributing to a broader understanding of solar system formation and evolution. Join our WhatsApp Channel
