NASA, on October 27, provided an update on its mission, Lucy, days after reports about partial deployment of the spacecraft’s one of the solar arrays surfaced. In its official blog, the agency informed that Lucy has been provided flight autonomy as it is currently in ‘Cruise Mode’- the standard flight mode for outbound flights. Earlier, the spacecraft had the scientists worried as one of the two solar panels- meant for powering the spacecraft- didn’t completely unfurl after getting released from the rocket.

The array is between 75% -95% deployed, says NASA

Further detailing the spacecraft’s condition, NASA said that it has successfully executed several small planned maneuvers, none of which has caused any adverse effect on the unfurled solar array. Earlier on October 26, the scientists had adjusted the spacecraft’s position to check how much electricity the unlatched solar array was able to generate which helped them determine the extent of the concern. The blog said-

“Analysis indicates that the array is between 75% and 95% deployed. It is currently being held in place by a lanyard, specifically designed to help unfurl the arrays during deployment”. 

On October 29, the scientists plan to adjust Lucy’s position to point toward Earth in preparation for instrument checkout. It has been learned that they are also considering leaving the solar panel in its current state but might attempt to redeploy the panel next month. Just days earlier, NASA had stated that even though one-half of the spacecraft wasn’t working as expected, there was no threat to Lucy’s health and safety. Investigations are currently underway to determine what caused the anomaly and whether it will transform into any threat to the mission.

Lucy’s mission profile

The Lucy mission is NASA’s first expedition to Trojan asteroids of Jupiter which departed into outer space on a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket. Aimed to examine “fossils” of planetary evolution, the spacecraft will fly past one of the main belt asteroids and seven Trojan asteroids during the following 12 years, marking it the first single spaceship expedition of NASA to visit so many distinct asteroids. The astronomers hope that this mission will prove to be of significant help in investigating two clusters of Trojan asteroids that encircle the Sun alongside Jupiter.

Image: Twitter/@Dr_ThomasZ