Explore Stunning Images of Asteroid Donaldjohanson Captured by NASA’s Lucy Spacecraft

NASA’s Lucy spacecraft has made an exciting discovery during its recent encounter with the asteroid Donaldjohanson. On April 20, 2025, Lucy flew as close as 600 miles (about 960 km) to this unique asteroid, which dates back roughly 150 million years. The initial images taken by the spacecraft revealed surprising features, confirming suspicions about its shape.

The asteroid appears to resemble two ice cream cones stuck together, an unusual sight that caught the attention of scientists. Hal Levison, the principal investigator at Southwest Research Institute, described the asteroid as having “strikingly complicated geology.” He believes studying Donaldjohanson will shed light on how planets in our Solar System were formed from colliding bodies.

Preliminary analysis indicates that Donaldjohanson measures about 5 miles (8 km) long and 2 miles (3.5 km) wide — larger than initially thought. Although the first images don’t capture the entire asteroid, more detailed data is expected to be downlinked over the next week. This information will provide a fuller understanding of its structure.

Interestingly, while Donaldjohanson is not Lucy’s main target, this close flyby is essential for testing and refining observations. The mission team is excited about gathering data from various instruments onboard, including the L’Ralph color imager and the L’TES thermal infrared spectrometer.

Looking ahead, Lucy will continue its journey through the main asteroid belt throughout 2025, with plans to rendezvous with its first main target, the Jupiter Trojan asteroid Eurybates, by August 2027. Tom Statler, a program scientist for Lucy, expressed optimism, saying that the spacecraft has incredible potential to reveal insights about the history of our solar system.

Lucy is the thirteenth mission in NASA’s Discovery Program, aiming to explore the building blocks of our planetary system. The spacecraft was designed and built by Lockheed Martin Space, with various instruments created by teams from institutions like the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory and Arizona State University.

Recent studies suggest that asteroid encounters like Lucy’s provide unique opportunities to understand not just the asteroids themselves but also the early days of our Solar System. With such discoveries, scientists hope to uncover clues about planetary formation, which can help us comprehend Earth’s own history and evolution.

For those interested in following Lucy’s journey, you can check updates from NASA Goddard and stay tuned for more remarkable findings as the mission continues.

Check out this related article: Discovering the Universe’s Largest Structure: Surprising Findings That Redefine Our Cosmic Understanding