3/21/2023 0 Comments Earth gravity![]() ![]() ![]() “Low-Earth orbit is getting more crowded, so that has to be part of the consideration nowadays, especially for missions that fly low, like Lucy,” said Dr. Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center This exceptionally close shave will increase its velocity by four-and-a-half miles per second, setting Lucy on track to gain even more speed when it returns to Earth for its second gravity assist in December 2024. At 7:04 am, Eastern Time, Lucy will make its closest approach at just 219 miles above the planet: lower than the International Space Station. On October 16, 2022, Lucy will fly by the Earth like a partner in a swing dance, boosting its speed and elongating its orbit around the Sun. A greater than 1-10,000 chance that Lucy will collide with one of these objects, and mission engineers will be required to slightly adjust the spacecraft’s trajectory.Īlthough an adjustment is unlikely, and collisions are rare, NASA experts say the chances are increasing as the number of objects in Earth’s orbit grows. They will have to keep a look out for more than 47,000 satellites, debris, and other objects circling our planet. ![]() However, that’s not all the engineers will be closely tracking. This will allow it to use this planet’s gravity to gain some of the orbital energy and set itself on a course toward the Jupiter Trojan asteroids. Mission engineers will continually track NASA’s Lucy spacecraft as it prepares to swing by Earth on October 16 for a gravity assist. Credit: NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio This data visualization depicts Lucy’s trajectory through the satellite swarm. During the maneuver, Lucy will pass within 219 miles of the planet (lower than the International Space Station) and will fly through a cloud of over 6,200 Earth-orbiting satellites. On October 16, 2022, NASA’s Lucy spacecraft will fly by the Earth for the first of three gravity assists. ![]()
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