AssetID: 54680455
Headline: RAW VIDEO: NASA's Lucy Spacecraft Photographs Its Second Asteroid Up Close
Caption: NASA’s Lucy spacecraft has made its second close encounter with an asteroid, capturing detailed images of the peanut shaped object believed to have formed some 150 million years ago. The images were captured approximately every 2 seconds beginning at 1:50 p.m. EDT (17:50 UTC), on 20 April, 2025. During a flyby on 20 April, Lucy passed within approximately 960 kilometres (600 miles) of the asteroid Donaldjohanson. Early images transmitted back to Earth reveal a peculiar ‘contact binary’ structure—two lobes joined by a narrow neck—resembling a barbell with large, uneven weights or a peanut shell. Donaldjohanson, named after the palaeoanthropologist who co-discovered the fossil “Lucy”, is located within the main asteroid belt. The shape and geology of the asteroid have taken scientists by surprise. “This asteroid displays strikingly complex geology,” said Hal Levison, principal investigator for the Lucy mission at the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado. “These intricate structures will help us understand the formation of the planets and the early processes that shaped our Solar System.” Images captured by the spacecraft’s Long-Range Reconnaissance Imager (L’LORRI) suggest the asteroid is larger than previously thought—measuring around 8 kilometres in length and 3.5 kilometres at its widest point. The close-up visuals reveal a smooth, light-grey surface with soft-edged craters, especially dense on the larger of the two lobes. The neck connecting the lobes appears unusually narrow and cone-shaped, prompting further intrigue from researchers. A timelapse sequence taken during the approach shows the asteroid slowly rotating, although this effect is largely due to Lucy’s own motion. The most detailed images were captured from a distance of about 1,100 kilometres (660 miles), just 40 seconds before closest approach. This flyby serves as a crucial rehearsal ahead of Lucy’s primary mission to explore the Jupiter Trojan asteroids. Unlike Lucy’s first target, Dinkinesh—which served primarily as a systems test—this encounter allowed the team to conduct a full suite of scientific observations. Alongside the black-and-white L’LORRI images, data from Lucy’s other instruments—including the L’Ralph colour imager, infrared spectrometer, and the L’TES thermal instrument—will be analysed over the coming weeks to build a more comprehensive picture of Donaldjohanson. “Even at this early stage, these images showcase the incredible capability of the Lucy spacecraft,” said Tom Statler, Lucy’s programme scientist at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “The potential to unlock new insights into the history of our solar system when Lucy reaches the Trojans is enormous.” Mission control, based at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland, will spend the next several days downlinking the full dataset from the flyby. Donaldjohanson is not among Lucy’s primary science targets, but this flyby is expected to provide valuable data on contact binary asteroids and their role in early planetary formation. Lucy will now continue its journey through the main asteroid belt, en route to its first Trojan asteroid encounter with Eurybates, scheduled for August 2027. The spacecraft, built by Lockheed Martin and operated in coordination with NASA, the Southwest Research Institute, and other research partners, is part of NASA’s Discovery Programme, which aims to explore some of the solar system’s most compelling mysteries.
Keywords: feature,photo,video,asteroid,lucy,spacecraft,space,science
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