NASA's Lucy mission adds 9th asteroid to its list of attractions

Lucy has a ninth destination for its mission.

Thanks to Jupiter's gravity, Lucy will ride in the gas giant's path ahead of and behind the giant. Lucy will be the first human-made object to fly by an asteroid.

The goal of the mission was to zoom past a main-belt asteroid. Scientists have determined that one of Lucy's original target asteroids has a companion that will allow Lucy to observe it.

Lucy will visit eight asteroids.

Polymele is Lucy's third target and it's approximately 21 kilometers from end to end. Polymele's shape suggests that it's a remnant from the very early solar system, one that has avoided colliding with other objects so far.

Astronomers watching Polymele in preparation for Lucy's visit saw the asteroid pass in front of a star. They found a small space rock.

Hal Levison, a planetary scientist at the Southwest Research Institute and Lucy's principal investigator, said that they were surprised to find an object 200 kilometers away from Polymele. It's 3 miles in diameter and sits in Polymele's plane.

The companion doesn't have a name and won't have one until scientists know more about the asteroid's location. The astronomer named it after the character in the animation "Shaun the Sheep"

Scientists working on the Lucy mission decided in 2020 that the target asteroid Eurybates also has a small companion.

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