NASA (USAeronautics and Space Agency) announced that the Lucy spacecraft has successfully started the first phase of its mission. Lucy is expected to study Trojan asteroids orbiting Jupiter for 12 years. The US agency said the mission’s ultimate goal is to learn more about how the Solar system formed.
The spacecraft, which left the Atlas V rocket an hour after takeoff, successfully passed the first step of the mission. However, the explanations made now show that a problem has been encountered. The agency said (referring to the world) that it was working on resolving the issue before Lucy moved away from home.
The problem may have occurred after Lucy got up.
NASA said that one of the solar panels of Lucy, launched on Saturday, October 16 from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket, may not have been locked in place, creating a potential problem. It is stated that the engineers are currently working on the subject.
Lucy’s 7.3 meter wide solar panels were said to be undetected in pre-launch tests and within 90 minutes afterward. However, it was shared that after the departure of the rocket, which is the 2nd stage, they encountered an error that this part may not be locked in place.
Will Lucy be able to continue her mission?
NASA shared a post on its website on Sunday, October 17. He said that Lucy was working stably and smoothly, but was failing that the gauges were not fully locked on the secondary panels. However, he stated that this situation did not harm the structural integrity of the spacecraft, that it could continue to operate and that it is currently on its way to Jupiter, its mission location.
Although NASA said that the spacecraft could continue the mission, these panels were of vital importance to Lucy, causing great concern. Thomas Zurbuchen, associate director of science at the agency involved in the project, tweeted: “This team has already overcome many challenges and I am confident that they will prevail here too.”
What do you think about this subject? The cost of the project, which will explore 8 asteroids in total, is 981 million dollars. Do you think the mission will fail due to a docking error? Don’t forget to share your views with us in the comments!
49600
