The Lucy spacecraft has obtained its first close-up images of main belt asteroid Donaldjohanson, which is positioned conveniently near the spacecraft’s trajectory to Jupiter. Named after the anthropologist who discovered the fossilized hominid Lucy in 1974, the small asteroid measures approximately 3 miles (4 kilometers) in diameter.
Newly released NASA images show Donaldjohanson as a faint smudge of light captured by Lucy’s Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (L’ORRI). The spacecraft will close in on Donaldjohanson on April 20, 2025, and fly within 596 miles (960 kilometers) of the asteroid.
Although not a Trojan asteroid itself, Donaldjohanson is part of the Erigone family, thought to be formed from debris resulting from a massive collision around 130 million years ago. The Lucy mission aims to explore this asteroid as part of its optical navigation program.
The spacecraft’s next flyby targets Eurybates, the first Trojan asteroid on Lucy’s list, which will help researchers understand the Trojans’ origins and compositions. The Eurybates flyby is scheduled for August 12, 2027.
Source: https://gizmodo.com/nasas-lucy-spacecraft-snaps-first-look-at-upcoming-asteroid-target-2000568592