Nasa's Lucy spacecraft is set to fly past 150-million-year-old asteroid Donaldjohanson on 20 April, marking the next milestone in its ambitious 12-year mission.
The encounter will serve primarily as a rehearsal for Lucy's ultimate destination - Jupiter's Trojan asteroids.
Over its full mission, Lucy is scheduled to visit a total of 11 asteroids across two swarms that lead and trail Jupiter in its orbit.
Despite being a practice run, scientists expect valuable data from the three-mile-wide space rock.
Scientists used computer modelling to determine the asteroid formed when a larger space rock broke apart.
"Based on ground-based observations, Donaldjohanson appears to be a peculiar object," said Simone Marchi, Lucy's deputy principal investigator and lead author of the new paper.
Since its formation, researchers have discovered that the asteroid's orbit and spin have evolved significantly.
A study detailing these findings was published on March 17 in The Planetary Science Journal.
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"Data indicates that it could be quite elongated and a slow rotator, possibly due to thermal torques that have slowed its spin over time," said David Vokrouhlický, a professor at Charles University, Prague, and co-author of the research.
The asteroid appears distinctly different from previously studied space rocks like Bennu and Ryugu.
These two asteroids were sampled by Nasa's Osiris-Rex and Japan's Hayabusa2 missions respectively.
"We can hardly wait for the flyby because, as of now, Donaldjohanson's characteristics appear very distinct from Bennu and Ryugu. Yet, we may uncover unexpected connections," Marchi added.
During next month's flyby, Lucy will gather crucial data on Donaldjohanson's shape, surface geology and cratering history.
This information is particularly valuable as it can only be collected from close proximity.
The mission follows previous asteroid encounters that yielded surprising discoveries.
Lucy's last target, Dinkinesh, provided unexpected findings, raising hopes that Donaldjohanson may also hold surprises.
The data collected will help scientists better understand the asteroid's unique characteristics and place in our solar system's history.
The Trojan asteroids are of particular interest to researchers as they contain ancient information about our solar system's formation.
"These relics are effectively fossils of the planet formation process, holding vital clues to deciphering the history of our solar system," said Hal Levison, the mission's principal investigator from the Southwest Research Institute.
Keith Noll, Lucy project scientist at Nasa's Goddard Space Flight Center, emphasised the importance of direct observation.
"Earth-based observing and theoretical models can only take us so far. To validate these models and get to the next level of detail, we need close-up data," he said.
Lucy launched on October 16, 2021 from Nasa's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The spacecraft blasted off atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket.
Find Out More...
The encounter will serve primarily as a rehearsal for Lucy's ultimate destination - Jupiter's Trojan asteroids.
Over its full mission, Lucy is scheduled to visit a total of 11 asteroids across two swarms that lead and trail Jupiter in its orbit.
Despite being a practice run, scientists expect valuable data from the three-mile-wide space rock.
Scientists used computer modelling to determine the asteroid formed when a larger space rock broke apart.
"Based on ground-based observations, Donaldjohanson appears to be a peculiar object," said Simone Marchi, Lucy's deputy principal investigator and lead author of the new paper.
Since its formation, researchers have discovered that the asteroid's orbit and spin have evolved significantly.
A study detailing these findings was published on March 17 in The Planetary Science Journal.
MORE LIKE THIS:
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"Data indicates that it could be quite elongated and a slow rotator, possibly due to thermal torques that have slowed its spin over time," said David Vokrouhlický, a professor at Charles University, Prague, and co-author of the research.
The asteroid appears distinctly different from previously studied space rocks like Bennu and Ryugu.
These two asteroids were sampled by Nasa's Osiris-Rex and Japan's Hayabusa2 missions respectively.
"We can hardly wait for the flyby because, as of now, Donaldjohanson's characteristics appear very distinct from Bennu and Ryugu. Yet, we may uncover unexpected connections," Marchi added.
During next month's flyby, Lucy will gather crucial data on Donaldjohanson's shape, surface geology and cratering history.
This information is particularly valuable as it can only be collected from close proximity.
The mission follows previous asteroid encounters that yielded surprising discoveries.
Lucy's last target, Dinkinesh, provided unexpected findings, raising hopes that Donaldjohanson may also hold surprises.
The data collected will help scientists better understand the asteroid's unique characteristics and place in our solar system's history.
The Trojan asteroids are of particular interest to researchers as they contain ancient information about our solar system's formation.
"These relics are effectively fossils of the planet formation process, holding vital clues to deciphering the history of our solar system," said Hal Levison, the mission's principal investigator from the Southwest Research Institute.
Keith Noll, Lucy project scientist at Nasa's Goddard Space Flight Center, emphasised the importance of direct observation.
"Earth-based observing and theoretical models can only take us so far. To validate these models and get to the next level of detail, we need close-up data," he said.
Lucy launched on October 16, 2021 from Nasa's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The spacecraft blasted off atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket.
Find Out More...