CNN
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This Sunday, the spaceship Lucy will be in the sky, without diamonds.
NASA’s Lucy spacecraft The Trojan horse of distant Jupiter will circle the Earth a few hundred miles away on its journey to the asteroids.
The spacecraft will pass 220 miles above the Earth’s surface on Sunday morning. According to a NASA press release.
NASA says some lucky observers will be able to spot Lucy from Earth.
The spacecraft that will propel the asteroid will be visible from Western Australia at 6:55 am EDT. But it disappears from sight within minutes. At 7:26 am EDT, it will be visible in the western United States, assuming the sky is clear and sky watchers have appropriate binoculars.
To get very close to Earth, the spacecraft has to pass through an area dense with satellites and debris. NASA is implementing special measures to ensure Lucy does not lose anything on her flight.
“The Lucy team has prepared two different maneuvers,” said Coralie Adams, head of sub-team Lucy Navigation at KinectX Aerospace. “If the team detects that Lucy is in danger of colliding with a satellite or piece of debris – 12 hours before approaching Earth – the spacecraft will activate one and change the approach time to two or four seconds.
“It’s a small fix, but enough to avoid a catastrophic collision.”
The 12-year Lucy mission was launched in October 2021. The mission’s objective is to explore the Trojan meteorite cluster orbiting Jupiter. Asteroids have never been directly observed before; The image above shows Lucy approaching an asteroid. But if all goes as planned, Lucy will present the first high-resolution images of asteroids.
The spacecraft will orbit the Earth three times during its journey. Reaching Earth’s orbit gives Lucy the boost she needs to continue her path.
“The last time we saw the spacecraft, it was attached to the payload ship in Florida,” said Hal Levison, principal investigator for Lucy at the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado, referring to the cone used during the launch. . “It is exciting to be able to stop in Colorado and see the spaceship again.
“Lucy will be in heaven this time.”
