Dinkinesh, residing within the main asteroid belt situated between Mars and Jupiter, marks the inaugural stop on Lucy’s record-breaking mission, which will eventually see the NASA Lucy spacecraft visit a total of ten space rocks.
The NASA Lucy spacecraft is poised for a historic rendezvous with the space rock known as Dinkinesh on November 1
These forthcoming celestial waypoints are none other than the Trojan asteroids, sharing their orbital path with the solar system’s largest giant, Jupiter. The NASA Lucy spacecraft mission, initiated in October 2021, did not initially plan to explore the 0.5-mile-wide Dinkinesh, also designated as 1999 VD57. However, in January 2023, NASA made the decision to include it in the NASA Lucy spacecraft‘s itinerary. This encounter is not a mere sightseeing adventure. During the visit, Lucy will undergo critical testing of its innovative Terminal Tracking System, which is specially designed to maintain instrument alignment with asteroids during flybys. This task is no easy feat, as Lucy will be hurtling towards Dinkinesh at a staggering speed of 10,000 mph, about six times faster than a rifle-fired bullet.
The encounter with Dinkinesh serves as a vital dress rehearsal for the probe’s primary scientific targets, the Trojan asteroids, due to the similar flyby geometry and angle in relation to the sun
This presents a more challenging test, given Dinkinesh’s status as the smallest main belt asteroid ever observed up close by a NASA Lucy spacecraft. Subsequently, Lucy will depart from the main asteroid belt’s fringes, where Dinkinesh is located, and return to Earth in December 2024 for a gravity assist. This maneuver will propel the NASA Lucy spacecraft toward the Trojan asteroids, with a flyby of another main belt asteroid in 2025 before reaching the Jupiter Trojan asteroids in 2027. Lucy’s principal investigator, Hal Levison, expressed excitement about this endeavor, referring to Dinkinesh affectionately as “Dinky” and emphasizing its crucial role in advancing the Lucy mission.