Page 11 - Hal Levison News Today

On its way to the Trojan swarms, the spacecraft made a pit stop at a rock named Dinkinesh — and the images it sent back revealed that this asteroid has its own moon.

The team behind NASAs asteroid-tracking Lucy mission got a special treat this week.

NASAs Lucy spacecraft just flew by its first asteroid — and discovered that the space rock has a companion.

On Wednesday, Nov. 1, NASA’s Lucy spacecraft will make its first flyby of an asteroid, zooming past a space rock named Dinkinesh before heading to the Trojan asteroids of Jupiter.

NASA’s Lucy mission is starting its science studies way ahead of schedule

NASA’s Lucy spacecraft on Wednesday encountered the first of 10 asteroids on its long journey to Jupiter. The spacecraft on Wednesday swooped past the pint-sized Dinkinesh, about 300 million miles (480 million kilometers) 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 (16,000 kph).

The NASA Lucy mission will closely fly by the first of 10 asteroid targets on Wednesday. The mission will capture detailed images of Dinkinesh’s surface.

CU Boulder hosted a presentation regarding NASA’s Lucy mission, which involved the work of Boulder scientists. By Michaela de Oliveira Olsen

Lucy’s main targets are the so-called Trojans, swarms of asteroids near Jupiter considered to be time capsules from the dawn of the solar system.

(CNN) — The NASA Lucy mission is about to have its first encounter with a space rock.