‘Strange spin & shattered past’: What NASA’s Lucy hopes to find on Donaldjohanson asteroid
Produced by: Manoj Kumar
Credit : NASA
Asteroid Encounter
NASA’s Lucy spacecraft is set for an exciting April 20, 2025, flyby of Donaldjohanson, a main belt asteroid that could offer new clues about planetary formation.
Credit : NASA
Shattered Origins
Donaldjohanson likely broke off from a larger asteroid 150 million years ago. Studying its remains could reveal how asteroids fragment and evolve over time.
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Odd Shape & Spin
Scientists suspect Donaldjohanson has an elongated shape and a slow rotation—possibly due to the Sun’s heat altering its spin over millions of years.
Unsolved Mysteries
Despite its ties to the Erigone asteroid family, Donaldjohanson has unique traits that puzzle scientists. Lucy’s flyby may confirm if it truly fits the family profile.
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Trojan Rehearsal
Lucy’s mission focuses on Jupiter’s Trojan asteroids, but this flyby serves as a critical test run for its navigation system before exploring the more distant targets.
Close-Up Data
Ground-based models can only guess so much. Lucy’s flyby will provide high-resolution images to refine theories about asteroid composition and evolution.
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Ancient Clues
Trojan asteroids are fossils of the solar system’s formation. Studying them, along with Donaldjohanson, helps scientists understand how planets and asteroids formed.
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Engineering Feat
Lucy’s journey spans 12 years and 11 asteroids, pushing the limits of spacecraft navigation and long-term asteroid exploration.
Credit : NASA
Biggest Question
Could Donaldjohanson’s peculiar characteristics change what we know about asteroid evolution? Lucy’s flyby might rewrite parts of our solar system’s history.
Credit : NASA