As summer hits its peak, temperatures are soaring and many are spending their days indoors. For NASA, this is the same, but one of their craft is stuck in the shade. Lucy, one of NASA’s pioneering spacecrafts sent to explore the Trojan asteroids, is taking 3 hour naps every 2-3 minutes due to its blocked solar array.
Recently, NASA engineers have been attempting to fix the pesky problem with Lucy’s solar array. This has involved multiple attempts to alter the angle of the solar array and rotate the entire spacecraft.
Unfortunately, the attempts have been unsuccessful, and the problem persists. Despite this, NASA has announced that it is suspending attempts to fix Lucy for the time being. This is part of a bigger strategy to preserve the spacecraft’s precious resources, and to use the time for further work on setting up for Lucy’s flyby of the two Trojans in August 2022.
In other words, Lucy may suffer from a blocked solar array, but NASA is “this is fine.” This is a strategy of patience, which is intended to preserve the spacecraft’s autonomous operation—no small feat given the spacecraft has traveled over 1.35 billion miles to reach Jupiter’s vicinity.
Nevertheless, NASA engineers have not given up on trying to fix the solar array, and they have also formulating a contingency plan just in case. The goal is to keep Lucy operating as long as possible to secure advancements in solar system exploration. With this in mind, engineers have created special “micro-missions”—short activities tailored to maximize scientific research without depleting the spacecraft’s resources too quickly.
All in all, NASA engineers have decided to press pause on their attempts to fix Lucy’s pesky solar array for the time being. Whether this will be a permanent solution, however, remains to be seen. In the meantime, NASA will review the data from Lucy’s batteries and solar array, and will also consider other options to ensure a successful mission.
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