a NASA's Lucy mission , the first mission to the Trojan asteroids near Jupiter , launched Saturday aboard United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket from Florida.
Over the next 12 years, the Lucy mission will be responsible for exploring seven Trojan asteroids. These asteroids are small “bodies” left over from the formation of the large planets in our solar system. They share an orbit with Jupiter as the planet orbits the sun.
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The mission's goal is to collect new information about the formation of the solar system 4.5 billion years ago.
In addition to the Trojan asteroids, NASA's Lucy mission will observe another one orbiting in what is known as the Asteroid Belt, a region between Mars and Jupiter. The most well-known asteroids orbit in this region.
As for the seven Trojan asteroids, they orbit the sun in two groups. Lucy will be the first spacecraft to visit these asteroids. It is believed that there are more than 7,000 Trojan asteroids.
Scientists consider Trojan asteroids to be ancient remnants of the formation of the solar system. They were trapped in Jupiter's orbit for billions of years. Scientists hope that NASA's mission can provide new details about what conditions were like when the planets formed. They also hope that the Lucy mission willlead to a better understanding of the history of our own planet.
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The spacecraft was named Lucy after the ancient fossil discovered in Ethiopia in 1974. Lucy was one of the most famous scientific discoveries of the 20th century. The collection of bones gave scientists a better understanding of human evolution.
Cathy Olkin, a scientist at the Southwest Research Institute in Colorado, is the deputy principal investigator for the Lucy mission. In a video explaining the mission, she compared NASA's spacecraft to the Lucy fossil.
"Just as the Lucy fossil transformed our understanding of human evolution, NASA's Lucy mission will change our understanding of the evolution of the solar system," he said.
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The spacecraft, built by NASA contractor Lockheed Martin, is equipped with several imaging instruments designed to capture information about the composition of materials on the asteroid's surface. There are also other instruments that will be used to record temperatures on the asteroid's surface and measure the size of objects the spacecraft observes.
In April 2025, NASA's spacecraft will make its first approach to the asteroid "Donaldjohanson", in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.
The mission will use the push from Earth's gravity to complete its journey.
Lori Glaze emphasizes that any discovery from the Lucy mission will provide key clues about the formation of our solar system.
Source: learningenglish.voanews.com
