NASA's Lucy spacecraft will perform a fly-by of Earth on Sunday, giving some folks a chance to view it during its high-speed pass.
Lucy Spacecraft Will Slingshot Around Earth NASA’s Lucy spacecraft launched in 2021 and will eventually make it to Jupiter’s Trojan asteroids where it’ll explore the rocky location for clues on how our solar system formed.
This Sunday, Lucy will skim Earth’s atmosphere as part of its first slingshot procedure, coming within just 240 miles of the ground — that’s lower than the International Space Station, which orbits 250 miles above Earth. Take note, though, the fly-by comes with risks to the mission itself, as Lucy has to navigate Earth-orbiting satellites and large amounts of space debris. To prevent potentially catastrophic collisions, NASA has developed a system capable of anticipating potential hazards by enabling Lucy to execute small maneuvers to avoid a crash.
Lucy will continue over the Pacific Ocean in darkness and emerge from the Earth’s shadow at 7:26 a.m. ET . At this point, assuming the skies are clear, folks in the Western U.S. will be able to get a view of Lucy through binoculars as it appears in the south-western sky. The video at the top of the page offers an accurate description on precisely where in the sky to look for Lucy.
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