Home » Exploring the Trojan asteroid that contains the primitive matter of the solar system, the Lucy probe will lift off next month | TechNews Technology News

Exploring the Trojan asteroid that contains the primitive matter of the solar system, the Lucy probe will lift off next month | TechNews Technology News

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In Jupiter’s orbit around the sun, a group of celestial bodies called the Trojan group of asteroids orbit the sun together with Jupiter, carrying the secrets of the distant past of the solar system. NASA has confirmed the dispatch of the Lucy Mission space probe, which is expected to be launched from the Cape Canavera Space Force Base at 5:34 am EST on October 16, and will explore seven of the Trojan asteroids for the first time .

Trojan Asteroids usually refer to asteroids that share an orbit with Jupiter and orbit the sun together. They are divided into two small groups according to different positions, a group located at the Jupiter-Sun L4 Lagrangian point (in front of Jupiter) , The other group is located at the Jupiter-Sun L5 Lagrangian point (behind Jupiter). These asteroids are like a group of shepherds, following Jupiter, the shepherds, in orbits with the same cycle and the same speed.

▲ Asteroids of the Trojan group in the orbit of Jupiter. (Source: wikipedia)

According to the planet formation and evolution model, the Trojan group asteroids are likely to be the remnants of the original matter of the giant planets in the solar system (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune). They are the time capsules of the solar system’s birth more than 4 billion years ago. Important clues to the early history of the solar system may even tell us the origin of organic materials and life on Earth.

Now, scientists’ curiosity about the Trojan group of asteroids has finally been satisfied. On October 16 this year, the Lucy Mission space probe will be launched on the Atlas V carrier rocket to the vicinity of Jupiter. Although the journey is quite long, it needs to use the earth to experience two gravitational accelerations after liftoff, and then fly over a celestial body located in the main asteroid belt, numbered asteroid 52246 (Donaldjohanson), with a diameter of about 3.895 kilometers.

From August 2027 to November 2028, the Lucy probe will fly over 4 Trojan asteroids at L4 Lagrange point, and then fly over another 3 Trojan asteroids at L5 Lagrange point in March 2033. Planets, these 7 asteroids are named after the heroes of Homer’s epic, namely: Eurybates, Queta, Polymele, Leucus, Orus, Patroclus and Menoetius. The entire mission is expected to take 12 years.

Due to the limited time, although the probes are only within 1,000 kilometers of the surface when they fly over these asteroids, they will not be slowed down by the celestial bodies. On the contrary, the probes will maintain a speed of 5-8 kilometers per second. Since the encounter process is very short and the optimal interval for collecting data is only a few hours, the team will analyze the composition and structure of these asteroids through data from several cameras and spectrometers.

Although Trojan asteroids share the same orbit as Jupiter, these asteroids are still far away from Jupiter itself—almost as far away as Jupiter from the sun. Scientists hope this journey can help understand the planets in the solar system 4.5 billion years ago. How to form and how to evolve to the present position.

After the Lucy mission is completed, the probe will continue to walk in a stable orbit between the Earth and Jupiter, and will not collide with any celestial body for 100,000 years. After a long, long time, when Lucy’s orbit becomes unstable, he may be kicked out of the solar system.

(Source of the first image: NASA)

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