NASA Probe Designed to Fly Past 8 Asteroids, Faces Solar Panel Malfunction

The first NASA expedition to fly past 8 ancient asteroids began early on Saturday morning, however not everything proceeded as planned after the Lucy spacecraft reached orbit. Lucy unfurled both solar panels after securely separating from the rocket. NASA, on the other hand, only received confirmation that one of its solar arrays had been fully unfolded and was locked in position. The secondary array opened partly but did not connect to the spaceship. The Lucy spacecraft is more than 46 feet (14 meters) long, thanks in large part to its massive solar panels, which are each roughly the width of a bus.

They are intended to keep the spacecraft’s equipment powered up. Lucy, on the other hand, has enough fuel to perform some skillful maneuvers on its route to the asteroids orbiting Jupiter. During a news briefing this week, Joan Salute, associate director for flight projects at NASA’s Planetary Science Division, stated, “Lucy will indeed be NASA’s first project to navigate this far away from the sun without nuclear energy.” “Lucy has 2 extremely huge round solar panels that open out like Chinese fans to generate adequate electricity. These simultaneously deploy on their own.”
The Lucy probe, with its dual solar panels deactivated, is seen approaching one of the Trojan Asteroids around Jupiter. The Lucy spacecraft is now stable, according to the crew. As per a NASA release, “the crew continues to examine all available engineering information to verify how far it has dispersed.” “When matched to the fully deployed wing, this solar panel will approximately produce the necessary electricity as projected. This quantity of power is sufficient to keep the craft safe and operational.” Lucy had remained in safe mode and therefore only fulfilled vital operations since the incomplete solar array rollout, but it moved to cruise mode on Tuesday.

“The crew is continuing its evaluation, and an effort to completely install the solar array is scheduled for the end of the upcoming week.” The scientists confirmed that Lucy was able to spin the spacecraft employing the present arrangement of the solar arrays by using its engines. As per NASA, it will proceed to do modest engine firings to assist control the spacecraft’s velocity. The solar array malfunction had caused a brief delay in placing the instrument pointing platform on the spacecraft, however other post-launch operations are proceeding as planned.
The scientific equipment for the expedition is housed on this structure, which includes color as well as black & white camera systems, a thermometer, and an infrared imaging spectrometer. As the team examines Lucy’s other planned tasks, they will determine whether there are any additional long-term effects. Currently, no changes to the spacecraft’s course are expected until December. Lucy is on a 12-year mission to investigate Jupiter’s previously unknown Trojan asteroid swarms. The Trojan asteroids, named after Greek mythology, circle the sun in 2 swarms, one in front of Jupiter, the biggest celestial body in our planetary system, while the other remains behind it.

As yet, the only glances we’ve had of the Trojans have been from artist representations or animations based on prior studies on the asteroid belt. Lucy will deliver the first high-resolution pictures of these objects. This is the first mission intended to explore and investigate these asteroids, which are leftovers from our solar system’s initial existential period. The project will allow scientists to go back in time and discover how the solar system originated 4.5 billion years ago. Lucy’s 12-year journey might also assist scientists and researchers figure out how our planets got to where they are now.

The probe will pass by one of these bodies in the primary asteroid belt separating Mars and Jupiter before exploring 7 other Trojans. Throughout its journey, Lucy will swing the other way to Earth’s orbit 3 times for gravitational assistance that can catapult it to its intended course. The Lucy fossil, i.e., the bones of an early human ancestor found in Ethiopia in 1974, inspired the project’s name. The skeleton has assisted scholars in piecing together elements of human origins, and NASA’s Lucy team members believe that their expedition will do the same for the evolution of our planetary system.