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6d ago

NASA’s Lucy Completes Key Flyby of Asteroid Donaldjohanson

The spacecraft autonomously tracked the asteroid, gathered critical data, and reestablished communication as it prepares for its primary mission to Jupiter’s Trojans.

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The asteroid Donaldjohanson as seen by the Lucy Long-Range Reconnaissance Imager (L’LORRI) on NASA’s Lucy spacecraft during its flyby.
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Overview

  • Lucy successfully flew within 596 miles of the asteroid Donaldjohanson on April 20, 2025, marking a pivotal rehearsal for its 12-year mission to explore Jupiter's Trojan asteroids.
  • The spacecraft used its Terminal Tracking System to autonomously lock onto the asteroid, ensuring continuous observations with its three scientific instruments: L'LORRI, L'Ralph, and L'TES.
  • Donaldjohanson, a three-mile-wide fragment from a 150-million-year-old collision, is one of the youngest main belt asteroids visited by a spacecraft to date.
  • Communication with Lucy was temporarily suspended during the flyby but was restored about an hour later; data collected will be transmitted back to Earth over several days.
  • This flyby provided critical insights into the asteroid's composition and surface features, further refining operations for Lucy’s upcoming encounters with Jupiter's Trojan asteroids starting in 2027.