NASA started the new year with a great announcement. The organization announced that they are planning two space missions both of which will focus on asteroids. According to Earth Sky, the first mission is called Lucy and will work on Trojan asteroids. The Trojan asteroids are near Jupiter, trapped by the planet’s gravitational pull.
The second mission is termed Psyche and will look into a large object inside the asteroid belt. The object that the scientists have discovered is present in the solar system’s asteroid belt and is believed to be rare.
The scientists at NASA feel that the object might have been a planet since it wasn’t seen before and also because it has a metal body. The metal component of the object might be the core of the former planet. The report suggests that the planet might have lost its outer layers because of a major collision, which exposed its metal core.
According to Thomas Zurbuchen, the associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, the Discovery Program will go to places that have never been visited before, to make breakthroughs in the field of space science.
While the Trojan asteroids have been studied for a long time, the new object will be a step towards the unknown and is sure to bring new things into perspective. NASA plans on launching the Lucy mission in 2021, 2023 will be when Psyche is launched.
NASA reported that Lucy would include a robotic spacecraft that will be launched from the space station in October 2021. The spacecraft will reach its destination in 2025. Lucy will work on Jupiter’s Trojan asteroids from 2027 to 2033.
Scientists believe that the Trojan asteroids have been trapped by the gravitational pull of Jupiter and form two swarms around it. The asteroids share the planet’s orbit. There is one swarm on each side of the planet. The swarms lead and trail Jupiter in its 12-year revolution around the Sun’s orbit.
The Trojan asteroids are believed to be remnants of an earlier solar system. The origin of the asteroids might have been light years away from the current orbit it is found in. The Lucy mission will help the scientists study the asteroids closely and get a better idea about their origin and matter.
Psyche will throw light on a massive metal asteroid that has been discovered in the asteroid belt of our solar system. NASA has named the asteroid 16 Psyche, and it is located three times away from the Sun.
The dimension of the asteroid has baffled scientists. It measures 210 km in diameter. While asteroids are made up of ice and rocky, the 16 Psyche is made of iron and nickel. The metallic component of the asteroid is, in fact, similar to the core of Earth.
The basic structure of the asteroid has forced scientists to feel that it was a planet that might have lost the outer layer because of a collision some billion years before.
The two new missions to study the asteroids might unveil exciting things about the solar system. However, the upcoming missions will push any plans for missions to Venus. NASA zeroed down on the two missions to the asteroid after asking scientists to submit proposals for the Discovery Program.
The Discovery Program will include different missions about the solar system. It will include the Kepler space telescope, the Lunar Prospector, and the Mars InSight lander. These missions are already planned by NASA, and now the two asteroid missions are added to the list.