The Lucy space probe is preparing for its second approach to an asteroid

This Sunday, NASA’s Lucy probe will make its second close approach to an asteroid as part of its 12-year mission – this time the object of observation will be asteroid Donaldjohanson, named after the anthropologist who discovered the famous “Lucy” skeleton.

According to NASA, on April 21 at 20:51 Moscow time, the device will pass at a distance of only 960 kilometers from the asteroid, located in the main belt between Mars and Jupiter. During the flyby, the probe will engage three scientific instruments that will provide detailed images and spectral data, tracking the asteroid for several hours. However, just before the maximum approach, the apparatus will have to temporarily stop observing to protect the sensors from sunlight.

This is just one of many flybys planned as part of the massive Lucy mission, which is designed to study the “building blocks” of the solar system – the oldest asteroids that have survived since its formation. The first such rapprochement took place in 2023, when the probe visited the asteroid Dinkinesh. Then scientists were surprised by an unexpected discovery: a small asteroid had a satellite in the form of a contact binary object – as if “fused” between the two bodies.

After its current approach to Donaldjohanson, the spacecraft will head toward its primary target, a group of Trojan asteroids that share an orbit with Jupiter. The first visit to one of these objects is scheduled for 2027.

Scientists are eagerly awaiting the new data. “Each asteroid tells its own unique story, and together these fragments add up to a complete picture of our solar system’s past,” explains Tom Statler, science director of the Lucy mission. – “We’ve already learned that each new object holds surprises. And I’m confident that Donaldjohanson will be no exception.”

The Lucy mission is one of NASA’s most ambitious attempts to study the oldest bodies in the solar system. Its results could radically change our understanding of the processes that took place at the dawn of its formation.