A naukri.com initiative
Earthsky
2w
99
Image Credit: Earthsky
NASA’s Lucy spacecraft skimming Earth’s atmosphere today!
- NASA's Lucy spacecraft will receive its second Earth gravity assist on December 12, 2024, which will place the spacecraft on a new trajectory through Jupiter's Trojan asteroids.
- Observers in the Hawaiian Islands might be able to catch a glimpse of Lucy as the spacecraft approaches Earth, after which it will pass into Earth's shadow before becoming visible to observers with a telescope in Western Africa and Eastern South America.
- Lucy's next encounter will be with the asteroid Donaldjohanson on April 20, 2025.
- The second Earth gravity assist will dramatically change Lucy's propulsion, allowing it to travel through the Jupiter Trojan Asteroids, with the previous trajectory enabling it towards the inner limits of the asteroid belt where it encountered Dinkinesh asteroids.
- Lucy will approach earth from the direction of the sun and be invisible in the glare of the sun.
- Observers in the Hawaiian Islands may see Lucy before it passes into Earth's shadow.
- Lucy will travel over 33,000 miles per hour and will be visible to observers with a telescope in Western Africa and Eastern South America.
- The spacecraft was launched on October 16, 2021, and the upcoming gravity assist on December 12, 2024 will boost its trajectory into a six-year orbit.
- Lucy’s orbit will take it through the main asteroid belt, where it will fly past the asteroid Donaldjohanson and then lead Jupiter in its orbit for the first Trojan asteroid encounter in 2027.
- Lucy spacecraft imaged the Earth and Moon during its first Earth gravity assist in 2022, but there are no further calibrations needed for this event.
Read Full Article
5 Likes
For uninterrupted reading, download the app