NASA's Latest Mission to Explore Asteroids Near Jupiter's Orbit
2021-10-18
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1The latest mission of the American space agency, NASA, will explore a group of ancient objects orbiting the sun at the distance of Jupiter.
2Set to launch October 16, the Lucy spacecraft is designed to study Jupiter's "Trojan" asteroids.
3These asteroids are small bodies left over from the formation of our solar system's large planets.
4They share an orbit with Jupiter as the planet goes around the sun.
5The mission's aim is to gather new information about the solar system's formation 4.5 billion years ago.
6Lucy will observe eight asteroids over 12 years.
7One orbits in what is known as the Asteroid Belt, an area between Mars and Jupiter.
8Most known asteroids orbit within this area.
9The spacecraft will also observe seven Trojan asteroids.
10The Trojans circle the sun in two groups.
11One group leads Jupiter in its orbital path, while the other follows behind it.
12Lucy will be the first spacecraft to visit these asteroids.
13There are believed to be more than 7,000 Trojan asteroids.
14Scientists consider the Trojan asteroids to be the ancient remains of the formation of the solar system.
15They have stayed captured in Jupiter's orbit for billions of years.
16Scientists hope that the NASA mission can provide new details about what conditions were like when the planets formed.
17They also hope the mission will lead to a better understanding of our own planet's history.
18The spacecraft was named Lucy after the ancient fossil discovered in Ethiopia in 1974.
19Lucy was one of the most famous scientific finds of the 20th century.
20The collection of skeletal bones gave scientists a better understanding of the evolution of humans.
21Cathy Olkin is a planetary scientist at the Southwest Research Institute in Colorado.
22She is the deputy lead investigator for the Lucy mission.
23In a video explaining the mission, Olkin compared the NASA spacecraft to the Lucy fossil.
24"Just like the Lucy fossil transformed our understanding of (human) evolution, the Lucy mission will transform our understanding of solar system evolution," she said.
25The spacecraft, built by NASA contractor Lockheed Martin, is expected to fly within 400 kilometers of its targets.
26The spacecraft is equipped with several imaging instruments designed to capture information about the composition of materials on the surface of asteroids.
27Other equipment will be used to record asteroid surface temperatures and measure the size of the objects the spacecraft observes.
28Lucy will depend on solar power to operate.
29NASA says the mission expects to set a record because Lucy will be deployed farther from the sun than any past solar powered spacecraft.
30Hal Levison is the mission's chief scientist.
31He recently told reporters that although the Trojan asteroids are in a very small area of space, they are physically different from each another.
32"For example, they have very different colors, some are grey, some are red," Levison said.
33He added that these differences suggest how far away from the Sun they might have formed before getting to their current positions.
34Lori Glaze is the director of NASA's planetary science division.
35She said: "Whatever Lucy finds will give us vital clues about the formation of our solar system."
36I'm Bryan Lynn.
1The latest mission of the American space agency, NASA, will explore a group of ancient objects orbiting the sun at the distance of Jupiter. 2Set to launch October 16, the Lucy spacecraft is designed to study Jupiter's "Trojan" asteroids. 3These asteroids are small bodies left over from the formation of our solar system's large planets. They share an orbit with Jupiter as the planet goes around the sun. 4The mission's aim is to gather new information about the solar system's formation 4.5 billion years ago. 5Lucy will observe eight asteroids over 12 years. One orbits in what is known as the Asteroid Belt, an area between Mars and Jupiter. Most known asteroids orbit within this area. 6The spacecraft will also observe seven Trojan asteroids. The Trojans circle the sun in two groups. One group leads Jupiter in its orbital path, while the other follows behind it. Lucy will be the first spacecraft to visit these asteroids. There are believed to be more than 7,000 Trojan asteroids. 7Scientists consider the Trojan asteroids to be the ancient remains of the formation of the solar system. They have stayed captured in Jupiter's orbit for billions of years. Scientists hope that the NASA mission can provide new details about what conditions were like when the planets formed. They also hope the mission will lead to a better understanding of our own planet's history. 8The spacecraft was named Lucy after the ancient fossil discovered in Ethiopia in 1974. Lucy was one of the most famous scientific finds of the 20th century. The collection of skeletal bones gave scientists a better understanding of the evolution of humans. 9Cathy Olkin is a planetary scientist at the Southwest Research Institute in Colorado. She is the deputy lead investigator for the Lucy mission. In a video explaining the mission, Olkin compared the NASA spacecraft to the Lucy fossil. 10"Just like the Lucy fossil transformed our understanding of (human) evolution, the Lucy mission will transform our understanding of solar system evolution," she said. 11The spacecraft, built by NASA contractor Lockheed Martin, is expected to fly within 400 kilometers of its targets. 12The spacecraft is equipped with several imaging instruments designed to capture information about the composition of materials on the surface of asteroids. Other equipment will be used to record asteroid surface temperatures and measure the size of the objects the spacecraft observes. 13Lucy will depend on solar power to operate. NASA says the mission expects to set a record because Lucy will be deployed farther from the sun than any past solar powered spacecraft. 14Hal Levison is the mission's chief scientist. He recently told reporters that although the Trojan asteroids are in a very small area of space, they are physically different from each another. 15"For example, they have very different colors, some are grey, some are red," Levison said. He added that these differences suggest how far away from the Sun they might have formed before getting to their current positions. 16Lori Glaze is the director of NASA's planetary science division. She said: "Whatever Lucy finds will give us vital clues about the formation of our solar system." 17I'm Bryan Lynn. 18Bryan Lynn wrote this story based on reports from NASA, Agence France-Presse and Lockheed Martin. Mario Ritter, Jr. was the editor. 19We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. 20___________________________________________ 21Words in This Story 22mission - n. an important project or trip, especially involving space travel 23asteroid - n. one of many large rocks that circle the sun 24fossil - n. part of an animal or plant from thousands of year ago, preserved as minerals in rock 25evolution - n. a gradual process of change and development 26transform - v. to change something completely, usually to improve it 27composition - n. the parts, substances, etc. that something is made up of 28vital - adj. necessary or important