NASA’s Lucy spacecraft modifies an asteroid’s flyby in November

On May 9, NASA’s Lucy spacecraft executed a course-correction maneuver to set the spacecraft on course for its close encounter with the small main-belt asteroid Denkenesh. The maneuver changed the spacecraft’s speed by only about 7.7 mph (3.4 m/s).

although Space ship It’s currently traveling at nearly 43,000 mph (19.4 km/s), and that small push is enough to move the spacecraft nearly 40,000 miles (65,000 km) near the asteroid during an encounter planned for November 1, 2023. The spacecraft will fly 265 km away. miles (425 km) from a small half-mile (less than a kilometre) sized asteroid, while traveling at a relative speed of 10,000 mph (4.5 km/s).

Lucy’s team will continue to monitor the spacecraft’s trajectory and will have more opportunities to adjust the spacecraft’s trajectory Itinerary if it is necessary.

Lucy’s team also continues to analyze data collected from its spring instrument calibration campaign and make other preparations for the mission’s first asteroid encounter. This encounter will provide valuable testing of the spacecraft’s systems and procedures to ensure that everything works as expected during the mission’s high-velocity asteroid encounters.