In a mission the first of its kind, NASA is set to explore a mysterious swarm of Trojan asteroids circling the Sun. The mission will see NASA send a robot probe to inspect the Trojan asteroids in an attempt to find out more about the history of the Solar System.
Hal Levison, a principal investigator involved with the Lucy mission, which will oversee the inspection of the asteroids, emphasised the significance of the advancement.
He said: "This is a very exciting time for us, because we are moving beyond the design phase and are really starting to build the spacecraft.
"It is finally becoming real!"
The Trojan asteroids orbit the Sun in two giant clumps along the path of the planet Jupiter.
One group leads the orbit and speeds just ahead of Jupiter, while the other group trails and tries to catch up to the gas giant.
Scientists believe the asteroids could hold the key to finding out more about the history of the Solar System.
As part of the Lucy missions descriptions, NASA officials wrote: "These primitive bodies hold vital clues to deciphering the history of the solar system, and perhaps even the origins of life and organic material on Earth.
Lucy is expected to launch two years from now, in October 2021.
JUST IN:Asteroid warning: Why rock twice size of Burj Khalifa could end world
The robot will twice zoom past the Earth in order to build up a reasonable speed, then launch itself out into the void.
It is hoped that Lucy will reach the first group of asteroids by April 2025.
Donaldjohanson, the first rock Lucy will encounter, lies in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.
Following this, Lucy will then fly by four Trojans in the leading swarm, this occurring in August 2027, September 2027, April 2028 and November 2028.
DON'T MISS
Scientists shock after amateur sky-watcher makes asteroid discoveryAsteroid fears: NASA warning over 'raining nuclear rocks'Asteroid terror: NASA spots titanic approaching mega rock
The spacecrafts orbit will then ping the robot back towards the Sun ready to take on the next swarm of asteroids.
This second round is hoped to make contact in March 2033 - marking the missions grand finale.
No probe has ever before visited so many different destinations in separate and independent orbits, Lucy team members have claimed.
The missions name is an ode to an ancient 3.2million-year-old hominid fossil found in Ethiopia in 1974 by palaeontologists Donald Johanson (whose name features as the main-belt asteroid that the probe will visit) and Tom Gray.
Just as the discovery of the Lucy fossil shed light on humanitys origins, so too will the Lucy spacecraft likely expose unknown truths about humankind.
Yesterday, Express.co.uk reported on a mammoth space rock heading towards Earth that may disturb Christmas festivities.
The asteroid, known as 216258 2006 WH1, is set for its closest approach to Earth on December 20 - just days before Christmas.
The 540 metre space rock is the same size as the World Trade Centre and would cause a significant amount of damage and mass extinction.
The asteroid is currently thought to be hurtling towards the Earth at a speed of 43,200km/h or 26,843mph.
The asteroids course could be further influenced by natural a phenomenon known as the Yarkovksey effect.
The effect occurs when the gentle force of sunlight edges an asteroid either way of its natural course.
Its influence on an asteroid was demonstrated in 2012 with mastoid 1999RQ36, where scientists, using the effect, were able to estimate the most accurate determination of an asteroids orbit to date.
See the rest here:
- 2D Laser Profiling Scanner for Detecting Targets - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- NASA Energy Concept Could Harness the Power of Ocean Waves - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Data Acquisition Modules - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Dr. Scott Barthelmy, Research Scientist, Laboratory for High Energy Astrophysics, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Laser Tracker Ensures Accurate Alignment of Ares I Components - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Dual Cryogenic Capacitive Density Sensor - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Advanced Technologies Will Help Hubble Yield More Remarkable Discoveries - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Dr. Gerard Holzmann, Senior Research Scientist at the Laboratory for Reliable Software, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- NASA Research Will Help Aircraft Avoid Ocean Storms and Turbulence - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- NASA Awards 2008 Software of the Year - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Here Come The Tricorders - Update - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- China's View on Space - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Milsat Coordination and Tracking Issues - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Trash Talking and End Runs at NASA HQ - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Ares 1-Y is Toast - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Beyond Augustine - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Analyzing LCROSS' Plume - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Live Event: NASA-Sponsored Power Beaming Challenge - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- JSC Wants To Build a Replicator - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- USA: Looking For Ways To Hang On - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Lunar Lander Challenge Prizes Awarded - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Senate Votes To Restore NASA Budget Cuts - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- New FAA Regs for Commercial Reentry - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- TEDxNASA: An Invitation-Only NASA Meeting - Unless You Are Lucky - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Close Call For Courtney Stadd - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Space: A Waste? - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Making NASA Cool - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Engaging JSC’s Next Gen: A Leadership Analysis - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Dumpster Diving for Rockets - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- TEDx NASA - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Reflections On a Business Trip in Huntsville - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Staying the Course - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- The Economics of Space - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Ideas at Work - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Blah Blah Blah - Why We Should Care About Social Media - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Will White House Speak Soon About NASA? - December 12th, 2009 [December 12th, 2009]
- Software Aids Design of Ares V Composite Shroud Structure - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- ASDX Series of silicon pressure sensors - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Industry Update: Analysis & Simulation Software - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Battery Will Provide Backup Power for Space Shuttles - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- NASA Employee Claims To Have Witnessed Hijacking Planning - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Big Party in The Mojave Tonight - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Looking at Boulders on the Moon - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- SpaceBook Featured by White House - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- New Ways to Use Constellation Stuff - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- LaRC internal Poll Update - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Coalition for Space Exploration Does a (Much Needed) Reboot - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Lunar Orbiter: Comparing Old and New Images - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Boulder Trails On The Moon - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Vote for John Grunsfeld - National Geographic Adventurer of the YeAR - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Charlie Bolden at WIA/AIAA - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Live Webcast From The Lunar Orbiter Image Recovery Project - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Big Aerospace Warns of Job Cut Impact - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- The Boulders of Copernicus - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- shame on us - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- 2009 Space Elevator Games - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Random Hacks of Kindness - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- TEDx NASA Tickets Available to the Public - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- It’s better in person - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Leading Amidst the Disruptive Innovation Storm - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Space: What’s NOT to Hope for? - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Government in the Digital Age - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- SpaceUp – A Space Unconference - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Starfleet Academy? - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Crowdsourcing NASA - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Bringing Home The Bacon - December 14th, 2009 [December 14th, 2009]
- Anti-Space Mom with Pro-Space Kids - December 14th, 2009 [December 14th, 2009]
- How Quickly We Forget - December 14th, 2009 [December 14th, 2009]
- WISE Launch A Success - December 14th, 2009 [December 14th, 2009]
- Dynetics Buys Orion Propulsion - December 15th, 2009 [December 15th, 2009]
- New NASA Governance Structure Under Development - December 16th, 2009 [December 16th, 2009]
- Bolden Meets With Obama on Wednesday - December 16th, 2009 [December 16th, 2009]
- MSFC Procurement Doesn't Understand what "Open Source" Means - December 16th, 2009 [December 16th, 2009]
- Bolden Meets With Obama - December 17th, 2009 [December 17th, 2009]
- Parker Griffith AT MSFC Today - December 18th, 2009 [December 18th, 2009]
- Why Your NASA Computer May Not Work Properly - December 18th, 2009 [December 18th, 2009]
- Lakes and Fog on Titan - December 18th, 2009 [December 18th, 2009]
- Waterworld Found - December 18th, 2009 [December 18th, 2009]
- Pandora Could Exist - December 18th, 2009 [December 18th, 2009]
- Laurie Leshin Is The New ESMD Deputy AA - December 18th, 2009 [December 18th, 2009]