OrbitalHub

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Engineers at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, recently completed a test fire campaign of a 14-inch hybrid rocket motor. The rocket motor ignites using both solid fuel and a stream of gaseous oxygen to create a powerful stream of rocket exhaust. Data from the test campaign will help teams prepare for future flight conditions when commercial human landing systems, provided by SpaceX and Blue Origin, touch down on the Moon for crewed Artemis missions.

The hybrid motor was test fired 30 times to ensure it will reliably ignite in preparation for testing later this year at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. This video shows the 28th test, conducted in February, during which the 3D-printed motor fired for six seconds.

Video credit: NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center

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​Technicians use massive cranes inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA Kennedy’s Space Center in Florida to lift the fully assembled SLS (Space Launch System) core stage vertically 225-feet above the ground from High Bay 2 to a horizontal position in the facility’s transfer aisle. In the transfer aisle, technicians conducted final preparations of the core stage before it was integrated with the completed twin solid rocket booster segments. NASA is implementing a more efficient stacking process to support future missions to the Moon beginning with the Artemis II test flight.

Video credit: NASA

Asteroid (52246) Donaldjohanson is a small but significant body located in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Though it may not have the fame of larger or more compositionally unique asteroids, Donaldjohanson stepped into the scientific spotlight thanks to its pivotal role in NASA’s ambitious Lucy mission — a 12-year journey to explore the Trojan asteroids that share Jupiter’s orbit. Before Lucy reaches its primary Trojan targets, it first encountered Donaldjohanson, making it a key object of study in humanity’s effort to understand the solar system’s early history.

Discovery

Asteroid Donaldjohanson was discovered on March 2, 1981, by astronomer Schelte “Bobby” Bus at the Siding Spring Observatory in Australia. Initially designated 1981 EQ5, the asteroid was later named in honor of Dr. Donald Johanson, the paleoanthropologist best known for co-discovering the fossilized remains of Australopithecus afarensis, famously known as Lucy, in Ethiopia in 1974.

This naming decision was particularly meaningful to NASA, as their Lucy spacecraft, launched in 2021, carries a similar goal: to uncover the fossils of the solar system—namely, the Trojan asteroids, which are thought to be leftover building blocks from planetary formation. Naming the asteroid after Johanson creates a poetic link between the exploration of human origins and the origins of our solar system.

Location and Characteristics

Donaldjohanson resides in the inner region of the main asteroid belt, at a semi-major axis of approximately 2.39 astronomical units (AU) from the Sun. Its orbit is relatively circular and stable, with a low eccentricity and inclination, placing it within the Erigone asteroid family, a large group of stony asteroids in the inner main belt.

Though smaller and less well-studied than some of its larger neighbors, Donaldjohanson’s value lies in its convenience and timing—it is perfectly positioned to serve as a flyby target for the Lucy spacecraft en route to the outer solar system.

The Lucy Mission Flyby

NASA’s Lucy spacecraft has successfully completed a flyby of asteroid Donaldjohanson, providing unprecedented insights into this intriguing celestial body. Lucy performed a close flyby at a distance of approximately 600 miles (960 kilometers), capturing detailed images and data.

The flyby is particularly exciting because very few main belt asteroids have been visited by spacecraft, and each one offers a new data point in understanding the diversity and history of these primitive bodies. By studying Donaldjohanson, Lucy will help bridge the scientific gap between the inner and outer asteroid populations.

During the flyby, Lucy used its three onboard science instruments — L’LORRI (a long-range imager), L’Ralph (a visible and infrared spectrometer), and L’TES (a thermal emission spectrometer) — to examine Donaldjohanson’s surface geology, composition, and thermal properties. In addition to gathering scientific data, the flyby allowed engineers to practice operating the spacecraft’s pointing, tracking, and data-gathering systems ahead of the more complex Trojan encounters.

The flyby revealed that Donaldjohanson is a contact binary asteroid, characterized by two lobes connected by a narrow neck, resembling a peanut or a barbell. This structure suggests a history of two separate bodies gently colliding and merging. The asteroid measures about 8 kilometers in length and 3.5 kilometers at its widest point, larger than previously estimated.

Donaldjohanson’s surface exhibits a complex geology with varying crater densities between its lobes, indicating a diverse collisional history. These observations provide valuable data on the processes that shaped such bodies and, by extension, the early solar system. The successful flyby serves as a critical rehearsal for Lucy’s upcoming encounters with Trojan asteroids near Jupiter, scheduled between 2027 and 2033.

Looking Ahead

While Donaldjohanson is not the primary target of Lucy’s mission, the asteroid plays an essential role in validating the mission’s capabilities and providing early science returns. Its proximity and well-known orbit make it an ideal testbed. Moreover, the data collected during the flyby will contribute to our broader understanding of asteroid families, space weathering, and solar system evolution.

After the 2025 encounter, Lucy will go on to visit eight Trojan asteroids, including Eurybates, Polymele, Leucus, Orus, and the binary pair Patroclus and Menoetius. These objects are expected to reveal new insights into the formation of the gas giants and the migration of planets during the early stages of solar system development.

In this grand journey, asteroid Donaldjohanson acts as the first stepping stone—a humble but crucial waypoint on the path to uncovering our solar system’s ancient past. As such, it not only honors the legacy of scientific discovery associated with its namesake but also propels forward the exploration of space’s most enduring mysteries.

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NASA’s Lucy mission, launched on October 16, 2021, is the first space mission specifically designed to study the Trojan asteroids, a unique group of asteroids that orbit the Sun in two large swarms around Jupiter—one leading and one trailing the gas giant. These celestial bodies are believed to be remnants from the early solar system, offering valuable clues about the formation of the planets. Named after the fossilized human ancestor “Lucy,” whose discovery shed light on human evolution, this spacecraft similarly seeks to uncover the ancient history of the solar system.

The Lucy mission has four primary scientific goals:

Surface Geology – Analyze surface features to determine the history of cratering, layering, and possible past activity like volcanism.

Surface Composition – Identify the composition of the asteroids’ surfaces to infer the origins of their materials.

Interior and Bulk Properties – Measure mass, density, and structure of each asteroid to understand their internal makeup.

Satellites and Rings – Search for small moons and ring systems, which may help scientists understand how Trojan asteroids have evolved.

By studying these diverse objects, Lucy is expected to provide insights into planetary formation processes and the dynamics of the early solar system.

Lucy’s mission trajectory is one of the most complex ever attempted. It involves multiple gravity assists and a looping journey through the inner solar system to reach different groups of Trojan asteroids. After launching from Cape Canaveral aboard an Atlas V rocket, Lucy began a 12-year journey involving three Earth gravity assists:

First Earth flyby: October 2022

Second Earth flyby: December 2024

Third Earth flyby: December 2030

These assists help shape Lucy’s path to visit eight asteroids in total—a record for a single NASA mission. These include:

Donaldjohanson (Main Belt asteroid, 2025) – Named after the discoverer of the Lucy hominid fossil.

Eurybates and its satellite Queta (leading Trojan swarm, 2027)

Polymele (2027)

Leucus (2028)

Orus (2028)

Patroclus and Menoetius (binary pair in the trailing Trojan swarm, 2033)

The spacecraft’s ability to fly by both leading and trailing Trojan camps is made possible by its unique and precisely calculated orbit, using Earth’s gravity to slingshot itself across vast distances.

To fulfill its objectives, Lucy is equipped with a suite of three main science instruments:

L’LORRI (Lucy LOng Range Reconnaissance Imager): A high-resolution telescopic camera designed to capture detailed images of the surface features of the Trojan asteroids, similar to what New Horizons used for Pluto.

L’Ralph: This instrument includes both a color visible camera and an infrared spectrometer to analyze surface composition and detect ices, organics, and minerals.

L’TES (Lucy Thermal Emission Spectrometer): Measures the heat emitted from asteroid surfaces, helping scientists estimate the texture and composition of the materials.

In addition to these, Lucy uses a high-gain antenna and radio tracking to precisely measure the gravitational tug of the asteroids during flybys—key for calculating mass and internal structure.

The mission timeline is as follows:

Launch: October 16, 2021

Earth Flyby 1: October 2022 (completed successfully)

Main Belt asteroid Donaldjohanson flyby: April 2025

Trojan flybys (Eurybates, Queta, Polymele, Leucus, Orus): 2027–2028

Return to Earth for gravity assist: December 2030

Patroclus and Menoetius (binary system) flyby: March 2033

End of Primary Mission: Late 2033 (though the spacecraft may continue as an extended mission platform depending on health and power)

NASA’s Lucy mission is a bold and pioneering effort to study some of the oldest and most distant relics of our solar system. Through its ambitious trajectory and carefully selected instruments, Lucy will give scientists an unprecedented look into the origins and evolution of our planetary neighborhood. By exploring a diverse array of Trojan asteroids—each with its own unique story—Lucy stands to revolutionize our understanding of how the planets formed and why our solar system looks the way it does today.

Video credit: NASA Goddard

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​NASA astronaut Don Pettit, along with Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner, successfully concluded a 220-day mission aboard the International Space Station (ISS) with a safe landing in Kazakhstan on April 20, 2025. Their spacecraft, Soyuz MS-26, touched down southeast of Dzhezkazgan at 6:20 a.m. local time (9:20 p.m. EDT on April 19), coinciding with Pettit’s 70th birthday.​

The trio launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on September 11, 2024, and participated in Expeditions 71 and 72. During their time on the ISS, they orbited Earth 3,520 times, covering approximately 93.3 million miles.​

Throughout the mission, the crew conducted various scientific experiments. Pettit focused on enhancing in-orbit metal 3D printing capabilities, advancing water sanitization technologies, exploring plant growth under varying water conditions, and investigating fire behavior in microgravity.​

Following their return, the crew underwent routine medical evaluations. Pettit was transported to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, while Ovchinin and Vagner returned to the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia.​

Video credit: NASA

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​Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost Mission 1, launched on January 15, 2025, and landed on the Moon on March 2, 2025, marked a significant milestone as the first fully successful commercial lunar landing. Operating for over 14 Earth days on the lunar surface, the mission achieved all its objectives, collecting and transmitting approximately 119 gigabytes of data, including high-definition images of lunar phenomena such as sunsets and a total solar eclipse.​

The Blue Ghost lander carried ten NASA-sponsored science and technology payloads designed to advance lunar exploration and prepare for future human missions:​

Lunar Instrumentation for Subsurface Thermal Exploration with Rapidity (LISTER): Developed by Honeybee Robotics, LISTER utilized pneumatic drilling to measure the Moon’s thermal gradient and conductivity up to depths of 2–3 meters, providing insights into the lunar interior’s heat flow.

Lunar PlanetVac (LPV): Also from Honeybee Robotics, LPV demonstrated a rapid, low-mass method for collecting and sorting lunar regolith using bursts of gas, aiding in sample collection for analysis or potential return to Earth.​

Next Generation Lunar Retroreflector (NGLR): Provided by the University of Maryland, this instrument served as a target for Earth-based lasers to precisely measure the Earth-Moon distance, enhancing our understanding of lunar geophysics and fundamental physics.​

Regolith Adherence Characterization (RAC): Developed by Aegis Aerospace, RAC assessed how lunar dust adheres to various materials over time, informing the design of dust-resistant surfaces for future lunar equipment.​

Radiation Tolerant Computer (RadPC): From Montana State University, RadPC tested a computing system capable of withstanding the Moon’s harsh radiation environment, crucial for long-duration lunar missions.​

Electrodynamic Dust Shield (EDS): Developed by NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, EDS employed electric fields to remove dust from surfaces, demonstrating a self-cleaning technology for lunar habitats and instruments.​

Lunar Environment Heliospheric X-ray Imager (LEXI): A collaboration between Boston University, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, and Johns Hopkins University, LEXI captured X-ray images of interactions between the solar wind and Earth’s magnetosphere, contributing to space weather research.​

Lunar Magnetotelluric Sounder (LMS): From Southwest Research Institute, LMS measured electric and magnetic fields to study the Moon’s mantle structure and composition, enhancing our knowledge of lunar geology.​

Lunar GNSS Receiver Experiment (LuGRE): A joint effort by the Italian Space Agency and NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, LuGRE tested the reception of GPS and Galileo signals on the Moon, paving the way for lunar navigation systems.​

Stereo Cameras for Lunar Plume-Surface Studies (SCALPSS): Developed by NASA Langley Research Center, SCALPSS recorded high-resolution images of the lander’s descent, analyzing the effects of rocket plumes on the lunar surface to inform future landing strategies.​

Blue Ghost Mission 1’s success not only demonstrated the viability of commercial lunar missions but also provided valuable data to support NASA’s Artemis program and the broader scientific community’s understanding of the Moon.

Video credit: NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center