On October 16th, at 7 a.m. Lucy will skim the Earth's atmosphere in just 220 miles above the surface. Lucy will get some of the energy it needs to travel to this population of asteroids when it swings past Earth on the first anniversary of its launch.
The asteroids are trapped in the same place as Jupiter, at the same distance. Lucy is on a voyage for twelve years. Lucy will be placed on a new trajectory and return to Earth for a second gravity assist after two years. Lucy will get the energy it needs to cross the main asteroid belt after this second assist. Lucy will fly past a number of asteroids, including Eurybates and its satellite. Lucy will go back to Earth for a third gravity assist in order to rendezvous with the Patroclus- Menoetius asteroid pair.
Lucy will approach Earth from the direction of the sun. Lucy will be able to take pictures of the Earth and moon even though she won't be able to see it in the days before the event. These images will be used to calibrate instruments.
Lucy's trajectory will bring it very close to Earth, lower than the International Space Station, which means that it will pass through a region full of satellites. NASA developed procedures to anticipate any potential hazard and execute a small maneuver to avoid a collision in order to ensure the safety of the spaceship.
Lucy deputy navigation team chief Coralie Adam says the team has prepared two maneuvers. The time of closest approach will be changed by two or four seconds if the team discovers that Lucy is at risk of colliding with a satellite. It's a small correction, but it's enough to avoid a catastrophic collision.
The team had to include the effect of atmospheric drag when designing Lucy's flyby. This effect is increased by Lucy's solar array.
The original plan was for Lucy to pass about 30 miles closer to the Earth. When it became clear that we might have to execute this flyby with one of the solar array unlatched, we chose to use a bit of our fuel reserves so that the spacecraft passes the Earth at a slightly higher altitude.
Around 6:55 a.m., the sun came up. Lucy will be seen on the ground in Western Australia. Lucy will be visible to the naked eye for a few minutes before she disappears. The Earth's shadow is visible as the spaceship passes by. Lucy will emerge from the shadows of the ocean at 7:26 a.m. The time is at 10:30 pm Sky watchers in the west should be able to see Lucy with the help of binoculars if the clouds cooperate.
Hal Levison, Lucy principal investigator at the Southwest Research Institute, said that the last time they saw the craft was in Florida. We will be able to see the craft again in Colorado. Lucy is going to be in the sky.
John Spencer said that he was excited by the final few images that Lucy would take. This will be the first chance to calibrate Lucy's ability to detect craters by comparing it to previous observations of the moon by other space missions.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
