probe for studying “Trojan” asteroids on Jupiter

This Saturday, NASA launched an unprecedented mission (16) to study Jupiter’s Trojan asteroids, two large clusters of space rock that scientists believe are remnants of material that formed the outer planets in the solar system.

The space probe, nicknamed Lucy, is packed into a dedicated cargo bay, according to news reports. Brazilian agency, departed at the scheduled time from Cape Canaveral Air Force Base, Florida at 10:34 (Portuguese time), reported NASA… The hardware was launched on the United Launch Alliance (UAL) Atlas V rocket. joint venture from Boeing and Lockheed Martin.

Lucy’s Mission is a 12-year expedition to explore a record number of asteroids. He will be the first to explore the so-called Trojans, thousands of rocky objects orbiting the Sun in two clusters – one in front of Jupiter’s trajectory and the other behind it.

The largest known Trojan asteroids, named after the warriors of Greek mythology, are believed to be up to 225 kilometers in diameter.

According to Brazilian agencyScientists hope that Lucy’s flight over the seven Trojan rocks will provide new clues about how the planets of the solar system formed about 4.5 billion years ago and what shaped their current configuration.

Lucy will also fly over an asteroid in the solar system’s main belt named Donald Johansson, named after the main discoverer of the fossilized human ancestor known as Lucy. The fossil of Lucy, discovered in Ethiopia in 1974, in turn inspired the music. Lucy in the sky with diamonds, from The Beatles.

The probe will use rockets to maneuver through space and two rounded solar panels, each about the width of a school bus, to charge batteries that power the tools contained in Lucy’s body.