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<\/p>\nOf the varying types of celestial objects humans have sent spacecraft to investigate, there remains a select group of asteroids, located in two separate locations in our solar system, that we have yet to visit \u2014 the Trojan asteroids.<\/p>\n
Trojan asteroids are located at Jupiter\u2019s L4 and L5 Lagrange points, 60 degrees ahead of and 60 degrees behind Jupiter, respectively. The asteroids are present at the Lagrange points in groups, sometimes referred to as \u201cswarms\u201d or \u201ccamps.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Although telescopes have allowed scientists to research asteroids from Earth, the nature of the Trojans remains largely unknown. However, this is set to change.<\/p>\n
No earlier than October 16, the Lucy mission will start a 12-year journey to visit six of these mysterious asteroids and an additional main-belt asteroid. During its time with the Trojans, Lucy will uncover the history behind these bodies and study the Trojans in depth using a suite of cameras, spectrometers, and antennas.<\/p>\n
But why Trojan asteroids?<\/p>\n
\u201cAsteroids are the fossils of planet formation. They\u2019re left over from early on, and they\u2019ve remained relatively unchanged, at least relative compared to the planets since they formed,\u201d said Dr. Hal Levison, Principal Investigator for Lucy at the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) in an interview with NASASpaceflight.<\/p>\n
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The planned orbit for Lucy. Credit: NASA<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m actually a theorist by training. This is the first space mission I\u2019ve been involved in. My background is to do large-scale planet formation models and try to figure out the small body reservoirs because of what the fossils of planet formation tell us about how the planets formed,\u201d added Dr. Levison.<\/p>\n
Technology News (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});<\/p>\n \u201cIf you look at the major small body reservoirs that are accessible by spacecraft, the only ones yet to be visited are the Trojans. We\u2019re sort of putting a bow around the initial exploration of the small body reservoirs with this mission.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite going to the Trojans, Lucy will first visit the main-belt asteroid Donaldjohanson, performing a flyby on April 20, 2025. This target will largely serve as a dress-rehearsal flyby for Lucy\u2019s teams; however, they are still interested in seeing Donaldjohanson\u2019s surface features.<\/p>\n And this relates to the type of asteroids Lucy will visit in the Trojan camps.<\/p>\n \u201c[The Trojans] occupy a very small region of orbital space. They\u2019re very different from one another, particularly in their colors. They go from gray (C-type) to actually pretty red (D-type). That diversity, I think, is telling us something about their history.\u201d<\/p>\n Lucy will also visit P-type Trojan asteroids, which in terms of color are between gray and red.<\/p>\n Dr. Levison added that the color is likely an indication of where the asteroids now trapped in Jupiter\u2019s L4 and L5 points originally formed in relation to the Sun.<\/p>\n