NASA's Lucy spacecraft achieved a successful flyby of the main-belt asteroid Donaldjohanson on April 20, 2025. The spacecraft passed within 600 miles of the asteroid, capturing the first close-up images. This mission marks a significant step in understanding the asteroid's composition and structure.
The flyby revealed Donaldjohanson's elongated, contact-binary structure. The asteroid resembles a lumpy bowling pin, measuring approximately 5 miles in length. The Lucy mission, launched in 2021, is designed to explore a diverse population of small bodies, including Trojan asteroids, offering valuable insights into the early solar system.
This encounter served as a crucial rehearsal for the upcoming Trojan asteroid flybys. The data collected will provide valuable insights into the early solar system. The success of this flyby enhances the mission team's confidence for future observations, contributing to our understanding of the solar system's formation.