Suffice to say, the new images give us a better view of the ancient rock.
Those devices will be put to task when Lucy arrives at the Trojan asteroid Eurybates in August 2027.
Donaldjohanson is not the last asteroid Lucy will fly by, but its also not the first.
Video still showing Lucy’s encounter with asteroid Donaldjohanson.Image… NASA/Goddard/SwRI/Johns Hopkins APL
It marked the first time a spacecraft had observed a contact binary.
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Lucy’s first view of asteroid Donaldjohanson (shown in the square). Donaldjohanson is what scientists call a contact binary, which occurs when smaller bodies collide and fuse—hence its distinctive peanut-like shape.
Animation showing Lucy’s brief encounter with the asteroid GIF: NASA/Goddard/SwRI/Johns Hopkins AP
