NASA's Lucy Probe Will Fly By a 'Dinky' Asteroid on Nov. 1.

NASA's Lucy Probe Will Fly By a 'Dinky' Asteroid on Nov. 1.


On November 1, 2023, NASA's Lucy probe will fly by the asteroid Dinkinesh, a half-mile-wide (1 kilometer-wide) rock in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. This will be the first asteroid in Lucy's record-breaking tour, which will see the spacecraft visit nine other space rocks in the next 12 years.

Lucy's flyby of Dinkinesh will be a test of its innovative Terminal Tracking System (TTS), which is designed to keep its instruments pointed at asteroids during flybys. The TTS is essential for Lucy's mission, as it will need to take detailed images and measurements of its targets in order to learn more about their composition, formation, and evolution.

Dinkinesh is a relatively small asteroid, but it is still important for scientists to study. It is thought to be a primitive asteroid, meaning that it has not changed much since it formed over 4.5 billion years ago. By studying Dinkinesh and other primitive asteroids, scientists can learn more about the early solar system and the formation of planets.

The Lucy mission is named after the fossilized Australopithecus skeleton that was discovered in 1974. Lucy is considered to be one of the most important fossil discoveries of all time, as it helped scientists to understand the evolution of humans. The Lucy probe is on a similar mission to learn more about the evolution of the solar system.

In addition to Dinkinesh, Lucy will also visit seven Trojan asteroids, which are two clouds of asteroids that orbit the sun ahead of and behind Jupiter. Trojan asteroids are thought to be remnants of the early solar system, and they could provide scientists with important clues about how the solar system formed and evolved.

The Lucy mission is one of the most ambitious asteroid exploration missions ever attempted. Its flybys of 10 different asteroids will provide scientists with a wealth of new information about these mysterious objects. The mission is also expected to help scientists to better understand the formation and evolution of the solar system.


What to expect from the flyby


Lucy will approach Dinkinesh from the south and will fly by at a distance of about 265 miles (425 kilometers). The flyby will take about an hour and a half. During the flyby, Lucy will use its instruments to take images of Dinkinesh, measure its composition, and study its gravity field.

Scientists are particularly interested in learning more about Dinkinesh's composition. The asteroid is thought to be a primitive asteroid, meaning that it contains materials that are similar to those that were present in the early solar system. By studying Dinkinesh's composition, scientists can learn more about the building blocks of planets and the processes that led to their formation.

Lucy will also use its instruments to measure Dinkinesh's gravity field. This information will help scientists to determine the asteroid's mass and density, as well as its internal structure.

The data that Lucy collects during its flyby of Dinkinesh will be sent back to Earth for scientists to analyze. This data will help scientists to better understand this primitive asteroid and to learn more about the early solar system.

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