NASA's Lucy spacecraft has encountered the first of 10 asteroids on its long journey out to Jupiter.
41 minutes agoThis image from a video animation provided by NASA depicts the Lucy spacecraft approaching an asteroid. On Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2023, Lucy encountered the first of 10 asteroids on its long journey to Jupiter. on Wednesday swooped past the pint-sized Dinkinesh, about 300 million miles away in the main asteroid belt beyond Mars. It was “a quick hello,” according to NASA, with the spacecraft zooming by at 10,000 mph .
Lucy's main targets are the so-called Trojans, swarms of unexplored asteroids out near Jupiter that are considered to be time capsules from the dawn of the solar system. The spacecraft will swing past eight Trojans believed to be up to 10 to 100 times bigger than Dinkinesh. It’s due to zip past the final two asteroids in 2033.
One of two solar wings on the spacecraft remains loose. Flight controllers gave up trying to latch it down, but it is believed to be stable enough for the entire mission.Unlike those missions, Lucy will not stop at any asteroids or collect any samples.
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