NASA has sent a spacecraft to test how the Solar System was created. In particular, the asteroid orbiting Jupiter will help unravel the mystery. This is called the ‘search for fossils’ in the solar system.

The spacecraft, named ‘Lucy’, was launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida on Saturday. The spacecraft Lucy will observe a large layer of gas in Jupiter’s orbit, which is surrounded by a cluster of asteroids. Scientists at the US space agency, NASA, say these objects remain as debris during the formation of the planets.

As a result, these asteroids, known as Trojans, are thought to contain important clues about the structure of the Solar System. NASA plans to spend 96 961 million on the mission over the next 12 years. NASA has sent a spacecraft to observe the asteroids. During this time, Lucy will observe seven Trojans.

The famous fossil of a human body found in Africa is called ‘Lucy’ – through which we learned a lot about our ancestors.

NASA’s mission is in that name and inspiration. The difference is that this spacecraft will search for history on a planet millions of kilometers away from Earth and orbit the Sun with Jupiter. “Trojan asteroids orbit Jupiter at an angle of 70 degrees,” explains Hall Lewison, Lucy’s chief examiner at the Southwest Research Institute in Colorado. They are trapped under the gravitational pull of Jupiter and the Sun. If an object were placed at the beginning of the solar system, it would last forever. So it can be said that these are actually fossils from a planet.

Lucy will use her tools to test these city-shaped objects. They examine their size, structure, surface texture, temperature, and what they are made of. In addition, Lucy will examine other asteroids orbiting Jupiter. In this space mission, Lucy will cover the 600 billion kilometers that was once considered impossible.

Source: BBC Bangla