NASA probe Lucy is flying to the mysterious asteroid Donaldjohanson on Sunday!

NASA probe Lucy is flying to the mysterious asteroid Donaldjohanson on Sunday!

The NASA room probe Lucy is facing an important milestone in her mission, because on Sunday evening it will carry out a second asteroid beforeing on Sunday evening, April 19, 2025 at 7:51 p.m. Lucy will fly past the asteroid (52246) Donaldjohanson at a speed of about 48,000 km/h, at a distance of only 960 kilometers. This flight is particularly noteworthy because the probe is around 223 million kilometers from Earth at this time.

Donaldjohanson is a C-type dasteroid with a diameter of around four kilometers and belongs to the Erigone family. This family of asteroids was created about 150 million years ago as a result of collisions in the main belt. The asteroid was named after the paleoanthropologist Donald Johanson, who discovered the famous "Lucy" fossil. Johanson plans to follow the flight in the control center of Lockheed Martin in Denver live.

observations and research goals

For this flight, NASA has provided a more complex observation sequence than at Lucy's first flight in 2023, when the Asteroid Dinkinesh was visited and a contact bineme moon was discovered. One of the instruments on board is the high -resolution camera L’Lorri.

The researchers: Inside, valuable knowledge of the shape and surface nature of the asteroid Donaldjohanson hope for the form and surface quality. This is made easier by the advanced instruments of the probe, which should help to create detailed images of the asteroid.

• The erigone family shows primitive surface materials with low thermal processing, which are classified as C-type seasids.
• The estimated age determination of the Erigone family is between 280 and 500 million years, with the members have a characteristic size distribution.
• A significant feature of the Erigone family is their slow rotation of around 251 hours per revolution.

The first scientific data from Lucy's observations are expected about a day after the flight, while the complete transmission will take several days. During the flight past, communication with the earth is temporarily interrupted, which is another tension moment in this exciting phase of the mission.

future missions and developments

After flying by Donaldjohanson, Lucy will continue her journey to the Trojaner Sea seeds, which move around the sun on the same track as Jupiter. The first of these Trojaner Sea seeds is to be reached in 2027. The entire Mission of Lucy will take a total of twelve years and include eleven asteroids.

The Erigone family, which includes Donaldjohanson, was discovered in 1979 and currently has 4,925 members. This family is characterized by its potential for exciting scientific discoveries, since it is in an area with dynamic orbital characteristics.

With regard to the upcoming explorations and the analysis of the Erigone family, NASA has already made significant progress. Advanced methods for determining the family structure and age provisions are of central importance. Understanding the characteristics of asteroids like Donaldjohanson could not only expand our knowledge of the early history of the solar system, but also offer concrete insights into possible resources and future missions.