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>> HELLO, AND WELCOME TO
NASA'S KENNEDY SPACE CENTER.
YOU'RE LOOKING AT A LIVE VIEW
OF UNITED LAUNCH ALLIANCE
ATLAS V ROCKET CARRYING LUCY.
THANK YOU FOR TUNING IN TODAY
FOR TODAY'S SCIENCE BRIEFING
TO DISCUSS NASA'S LUCY
MISSION, THE AGENCY'S FIRST TO
THE TROJAN ASTEROIDS.
I'M ALANA JOHNSON WITH NASA
COMMUNICATIONS.
WE ARE JUST TWO DAYS AWAY FROM
SOMETHING THAT'S BEEN MANY
YEARS IN THE MAKING.
NASA IS SENDING ITS LUCY
SPACECRAFT INTO THE SKY WITH
DIAMONDS, LITERALLY.
TODAY I'M JOINED BY A PANEL OF
EXPERTS TO GIVE YOU A BROAD
OVERVIEW OF LUCY'S SCIENCE.
FIRST WE HAVE ADRIANNA OCAMPO.
LUCY PROGRAM EXECUTIVE FROM
NASA HEADQUARTERS.
CATHY ULKIN, LUCY DEPUTY
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR,
SOUTHWEST RESEARCH INSTITUTE.
KEITH KNOLL, LUCY PROJECT
SCIENTIST, NASA'S GODDARD
SPACE FLIGHT CENTER.
HAL WEAVER, PRINCIPAL
INVESTIGATOR FOR LORI, JOHNS
HOPKINS UNIVERSITY APPLIED
PHYSICS LAB.
PHIL CHRISTIANSON, ARIZONA
STATE UNIVERSITY, AND DENNIS
REUTER, PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
FOR L-RALPH.
THANK YOU FOR THE MEDIA FOR
JOINING US TODAY, WE'LL BE
TAKING YOUR QUESTIONS AFTER
COMMENTS FROM THE PANELISTS.
THOSE OF YOU JOINING ONLINE
CAN ASK A QUESTION ANY TIME
USING THE #ASKNASA.
TO KICK OFF TODAY'S
DISCUSSION, I TURN IT OVER TO
ADRIANNA.
>> THANK YOU, ALANA.
IT IS WITH GREAT PLEASURE THAT
WE ARE HERE TODAY TO SPEAK TO
YOU ABOUT THE LUCY MISSION.
NASA'S VISION IS TO EXPLORE,
TO DISCOVER, TO INSPIRE AND TO
FURTHER HUMAN KNOWLEDGE.
LUCY IS A KEY PIECE OF THAT
VISION.
SELECTED IN LATE 2016 THROUGH
THE NASA DISCOVERY PROGRAM,
LUCY WILL EXPLORE A REGION IN
OUR SOLAR SYSTEM NEVER
EXPLORED BEFORE, THE TROJAN
ASTEROIDS.
THE TROJAN ASTEROIDS RESIDE IN
A STABLE POINT AHEAD AND
BEHIND NEAR THE ORBIT OF
JUPITER.
LUCY WILL PROFOUNDLY CHANGE
OUR UNDERSTANDING OF PLANETARY
EVOLUTION IN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM.
ONE SPACECRAFT, SEVEN TROJAN
ASTEROIDS, ONE MAIN BELT
ASTEROID IN 12 YEARS.
AND NOW TO SPEAK ABOUT THE
MISSION SCIENCE OBJECTIVE ON
INSTRUMENTATION, I LEAVE YOU
WITH A SCIENTIST OF THE
MISSION, STARTING WITH CATHY
ULKIN.
>> THANK YOU, ADRIANA.
SO PROBABLY WHEN YOU WERE IN
SCHOOL AND LEARNED ABOUT
ASTEROIDS, YOU LEARNED ABOUT
THE MAIN BELT ASTEROIDS
BETWEEN MARS AND JUPITER.
WE'RE GOING TO A DIFFERENT
POPULATION OF SMALL BODIES IN
OUR SOLAR SYSTEM, THE TROJAN
ASTEROIDS.
AND IF I CAN HAVE MY FIRST
GRAPHIC, IT WILL SHOW YOU
WHERE THEY ARE.
SO THE TROJAN ASTEROIDS SHARE
AN ORBIT WITH JUPITER, BUT
THEY'RE ACTUALLY QUITE FAR
AWAY FROM JUPITER.
THEY ARE 60 AREAS AHEAD OF
JUPITER AND BEHIND JUPITER IN
TWO SWARMS AND THE OBJECTS ARE
INTERESTING BECAUSE THEY ARE
THE REMNANTS FROM SOLAR SYSTEM
FORMATION.
WE'VE DESIGNED OUR MISSION TO
INVESTIGATE THE DIVERSITY OF
THESE OBJECTS IN THIS
POPULATION.
WE'RE GOING TO BE VISITING THE
MOST ASTEROIDS EVER WITH ONE
MISSION.
AS ADRIANA SAID, WE'RE FLYING
PAST SEVEN TROJAN ASTEROIDS IN
THIS EPIC JOURNEY OF NEARLY 4
BILLION MILES.
WE'RE GOING TO STUDY THE
GEOLOGY, SURFACE COMPOSITION,
BOTH PROPERTIES AND SEARCH FOR
SATELLITES AROUND THESE
OBJECTS.
I'LL GIVE YOU A FLAVOR FOR
SOME OF OUR SCIENCE
INVESTIGATIONS.
ONE OF THEM IS TO MAP THE
CRATERS ACROSS OUR SURFACES,
THE SURFACE OF THE TROJAN
ASTEROIDS.
WE'RE GOING TO LOOK FOR
CRATERS, SMALLER THAN A
FOOTBALL FIELD, ABOUT 70 YARDS
ACROSS, AND FOR CRATERS AS
LARGE AS FOUR MILES AND
EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN, AND BY
LOOKING AT THE SIZE OF THE
CRATERS ON THE SURFACE, WE CAN
LEARN ABOUT THE AGE OF THE
SURFACE, AND THIS HELPS GIVE
US SOME CLUES AS TO THEIR
ORIGIN AND EVOLUTION.
ADDITIONALLY, WE'VE DESIGNED A
SCIENCE INVESTIGATION TO LOOK
AND SEE THE COMPOSITION INSIDE
FRESH CRATERS.
NOW FOR ASTRONOMERS AND
SCIENTISTS, FRESH DOESN'T MEAN
RECENTLY REALLY IN HUMAN TIME
SCALES.
IT'S CRATERS THAT ARE LESS
THAN 100 MILLION YEARS OLD.
SO THAT'S ONE OF OUR
INVESTIGATIONS THAT WE'LL BE
ABLE TO DO.
BECAUSE WHEN WE LOOK AT THESE
TROJAN ASTEROIDS FROM THE
EARTH OR FROM EARTH ORBITING
TELESCOPES, WE CAN'T RESOLVE
THE SURFACES SO WE NEED TO
TAKE THE SPACECRAFT AND THIS
PAYLOAD TO THE TROJAN
ASTEROIDS TO BE ABLE TO ANSWER
THESE QUESTIONS.
AND THERE'S ONE OTHER SCIENCE
INVESTIGATION I'D LIKE TO TELL
YOU ABOUT, AND THAT IS OUR
MASS DETERMINATION.
WE WANT TO UNDERSTAND THE
DENSITY OF THE TROJAN
ASTEROIDS, THAT'S A KEY
CHARACTERISTIC, AND TO DO
THAT, WE NEED THE MASS, AND AS
WE FLY PAST THE TROJAN
ASTEROIDS, THE GRAVITATIONAL
PULL OF THE TROJAN ASTEROIDS
WILL CHANGE THE VELOCITY OF
THE SPACECRAFT JUST A LITTLE
BIT.
WE'RE FLYING BY IT NEARLY
15,000 MILES PER HOUR PAST OUR
OBJECTS.
AND THE GRAVITATIONAL PULL
FROM THE TROJAN ASTEROIDS WILL
CHANGE THAT VELOCITY BY ABOUT
A HUNDREDTHS MILE-PER-HOUR,
BUT WE'LL BE ABLE TO DETECT
THAT WITH OUR
TELECOMMUNICATIONS SUBSYSTEM
AND THE CHANGE IN THE DOPPLER
FREQUENCY AS WE FLY BY.
THAT'S HOW WE'RE GOING TO
LEARN ABOUT THE MASS OF THE
TROJAN ASTEROIDS, AND FROM
HERE, I'M GOING TO HAND IT OFF
TO KEITH KNOLL.
>> THANKS A LOT, CATHY.
SO WHEN YOU PLAN A MISSION,
THE VERY FIRST THING YOU HAVE
TO FIGURE OUT IS HOW YOU'RE
GOING TO GET TO WHERE YOU WANT
TO GO.
SO IF WE COULD RUN THE FIRST
GRAPHIC.
IT SHOWS AN ANIMATION OF THE
LUCY TRAJECTORY, AND I WANT TO
USE THAT TO MAKE JUST A COUPLE
OF POINTS.
LUCY IS A FLY-BY MISSION.
THAT MEANS WE FLY BY OUR
TARGETS AS CATHY SAID AT
15,000 MILES PER HOUR, THAT'S
PRETTY FAST, AND SO THAT
REALLY DICTATES A LOT OF THE
DESIGN OF THE OPERATIONS AND
EVERYTHING ELSE WE DO.
THE OTHER THING THAT I WANT TO
MAKE -- THE OTHER POINT I WANT
TO MAKE IS WHEN WE LOOK AT
THESE CARTOON MAPS, IT LOOKS
LIKE THERE'S DOTS THAT
REPRESENT THE TROJANS ARE
PRETTY CLOSE TO ONE ANOTHER,
BUT, IN FACT, THE CLOSEST PAIR
THAT WE HAVE IS MORE THAN TEN
MILLION MILES APART, AND THE
OTHERS ARE MUCH FURTHER THAN
THAT, EVEN.
SO THE ONLY WAY WE CAN GET TO
WITHIN 600 MILES OF OUR
TARGETS WHICH IS HOW CLOSE
WE'RE GOING TO FLY, AFTER
TRAVELING MORE THAN A BILLION
MILES, REALLY REQUIRES VERY
PRECISE NAVIGATION.
THAT'S ALL PART OF THE LUCY
TRAJECTORY, AND THE TRAJECTORY
IS WHAT DETERMINED WHAT
TARGETS WE END UP WITH, AND SO
LET ME SHOW YOU THE NEXT
GRAPHIC THAT SHOWS A
COMPARISON OF OUR TARGETS.
SO YOU CAN SEE THE LARGEST
TARGET THERE IS ABOUT 60 MILES
ACROSS.
THAT IS PART OF A BINARY
COMPANION, SO THE TWO LARGEST
OBJECTS ARE IN ORBIT AROUND
EACH OTHER, PETROKLIS AND
MENECCIOUS, WE SEE A LOT OF
THE BINARY OBJECTS, WE DON'T
SEE SO MANY IN THE INNER SOLAR
SYSTEM.
WHAT THAT TELLS US IS
PETROKLIS, AND MENECIAS
TRANSPORTED THERE AND DIDN'T
GET BEAT UP TOO MUCH.
ON THE OTHER HAND, THE OTHER
TARGET WE GET TO IS URIBIDIS
AND BEEN INVOLVED IN A MASSIVE
COLLISION BECAUSE WE CAN SEE
THE DEBRIS FROM THE COLLISION
IN THE ORBITS FROM THE OBJECTS
IN THE TROJAN ASTEROIDS.
SO THAT'S A REALLY GOOD
EXAMPLE OF THE POWER OF WHAT
LUCY IS ABLE TO DO BY HAVING
SO MANY TARGETS, WE CAN
CONSTRUCT ALL THE COMPARISONS
BETWEEN THE DIFFERENT
VARIETIES AND THE DIVERSITY
THAT WE SEE IN THE TROJANS,
THE UNEXPECTED DIVERSITY, THE
DIFFERENT COLORS, COLLISIONAL
HISTORIES, IT'S REALLY A
REPOSITORY OF FOSSILS, AS WE
LIKE TO SAY, OF THINGS THAT
HAPPENED AT THE EARLIEST
STAGES OF SOLAR SYSTEM
EVOLUTION.
LET ME SHOW YOU THE NEXT
SLIDE.
TURNS OUT THAT WE NOW HAVE ONE
MORE TARGET THAN WE STARTED
OUT WITH BECAUSE FROM THE
EARTH, WE'VE BEEN TRYING AS
HARD AS WE CAN TO LOOK AT THE
TARGETS AND USING THE HUBBLE
SPACE TELESCOPE WE FOUND A
SATELLITE ORBITING, URIBIDIS,
THE ONE INVOLVED IN THE BIG
COLLISION KNOW AND THE ORBIT
OF THIS OBJECT WHICH WE NAMED
QUETTA, WE WILL ALSO FLY VERY
CLOSE TO THE SATELLITE QUETA,
THAT ADDS ADDITIONAL TARGET WE
HOPE TO SEND BACK TO EARTH
FROM THE LUCY SPACECRAFT.
SO AND THE LAST POINT IS FOR
FLY-BY MISSION, WE HAVE TO
CHOOSE INSTRUMENTS VERY
CAREFULLY BECAUSE WE DON'T
HAVE A LOT OF TIME TO DO THE
SCIENCE DURING THE FLY-BYES.
LET ME SHOW THE LAST GRAPHIC.
SHOWS THE LAYOUT OF THE
INSTRUMENTS, ON A SEPARATE
INSTRUMENT POINTING PLATFORM
THAT WE CAN MOVE AND USE TO
POINT RECISELY AT THE OBJECTS
AS WE FLY BY.
THE THREE MAIN INSTRUMENTS ARE
INDICATED ON THERE AND THE
NEXT THREE SPEAKERS INTRODUCE
YOU TO THE SCIENCE
INSTRUMENTS.
LET ME PASS IT TO HAL WEAVER
WHO IS GOING TO TELL US ABOUT
THE LORI CAMERA.
>> THANKS A LOT, KEITH, AND
HELLO, EVERYONE.
YEAH, I'LL BE TALKING ABOUT
THE LOWERY, WHICH WE REFER TO
AS THE EAGLE EYES OF THE
SPACECRAFT BECAUSE IT WILL
PROVIDE THE HIGHEST RESOLUTION
VIEWS OF THE TROJAN SURFACES.
NOW WHAT YOU'VE BEEN SEEING SO
FAR AS WE LOOKED AT THE
ANIMATIONS ARE JUST ARTISTS'
RENDITIONS OF THE SURFACES OF
THESE TROJANS, GIVEN OUR BEST
CURRENT KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THEIR
PROPERTIES.
WHEN THE LUCY SPACECRAFT GETS
TO FLY NEARBY CLOSE TO THE
OBJECTS, WE'LL FINALLY SEE
WHAT THEY REALLY LOOK LIKE AT
FOOTBALL FIELD RESOLUTION OR
BETTER.
AT THE TIME OF CLOSEST
APPROACH TO THE TROJANS, LUCY
LORI IS GOING TO PROVIDE
DETAIL AS SMALL AS EIGHT YARDS
ACROSS, THAT'S ABOUT THE SIZE
OF ONE OF THE LUCY MISSION
SOLAR PANELS, SOLAR ARRAYS,
AND IT'S ALSO LESS YARDAGE
THAN YOU NEED TO GET A FIRST
DOWN IN FOOTBALL.
IT'S AMAZING TO SEE THESE
OBJECTS AT THAT RESOLUTION.
NOW WHAT ARE WE GOING TO SEE?
ARE THERE MOUNTAINS?
VALLEYS?
PITS?
MESAS?
WHO KNOWS?
I'M SURE WE'RE GOING TO BE
SURPRISED BUT WE CAN HARDLY
WAY TO SEE WHAT THE LORI
IMAGES WILL REVEAL ABOUT THE
FOSSILS FROM THE FORMATION OF
THE SOLAR SYSTEM.
AND NOW WHAT I WANT TO DO IS
SHARE A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE
LLORRI ITSELF.
A NICE INTRODUCTION TO LUCY
LLORRI AND SHOWS YOU IN THE
LAB DURING GROUND TESTING AT
THE APPLIED PHYSICS LAB, YOU
CAN SEE LLORRI WITHOUT THE
THERMAL BLANKETS, THE
TELESCOPE IS THE SAME OPTICAL
DESIGN AS THE HUBBLE SPACE
TELESCOPE BUT MUCH SIMPLER.
LLORRI HAS NO MOVING PARTS AND
NO FILTERS AND WE DO THAT TO
REDUCE THE RISK OF FAILURE
DURING THE LONG MISSION, THE
12-YEAR MISSION.
IN ADDITION TO MAPPING THE
SURFACES OF ALL THE TROJANS,
MEASURING THE CRATERS AS CATHY
WAS SAYING, WE'LL ALSO USE
LLORRI TO PROVIDE SENSITIVE
SEARCHES FOR MOONS AROUND THE
TROJANS AND LOOK FOR POTENTIAL
DUST RINGS AND WE'LL LOOK FOR
POSSIBLE ACTIVITY OF THESE
TROJANS, MATERIAL WILL BE
THROWN OFF BY COMMENTARY-LIKE
BEHAVIOR ASSOCIATED WITH THE
TROJANS.
OKAY, SO ALTHOUGH LUCY LLORRI
IS MUCH SMALLER THAN HUBBLE,
IT ACTUALLY IS VERY LARGE FOR
AN INTERPLANETARY SPACECRAFT,
HAS AN 8.2 INCH PRIMARY MIRROR
AND INTEGRATES ALL COLORS
TOGETHER TO PRODUCE VERY
SENSITIVE BLACK AND WHITE
IMAGES WHICH IS WHAT YOU NEED
TO SEE THE DARK TROJAN
SURFACES AT HIGH RESOLUTION.
OKAY, SO WHAT I WANT TO DO
NEXT IS TALK ABOUT LUCY LLORRI
THE SUCCESSOR IT AN INSTRUMENT
CURRENTLY FLYING IN SPACE
UNDER THE MISSION ALSO CALLED
LLORRI FLYING COMING UP ON 16
YEARS PERFORMING FLAWLESSLY
WITH NO DEGRADATION IN ITS
PERFORMANCE, AND I'LL SHOW YOU
A COUPLE OF IMAGES, SOME
IMAGES FROM THE NEW HORIZONS
LLORRI, NEW HORIZONS LLORRI
FLEW BY THE PLUTO SYSTEM IN
2014 AND TOOK THE SPECTACULAR
IMAGES SHOWN TO THE LEFT,
SHOWING THE INCREDIBLE TERRAIN
DIVERSITY IN PLUTO'S SURFACE,
AND 3 1/2 YEARS LATER ON NEW
YEAR'S DAY IN 2019, IT FLEW BY
A SMALL KUIPER BELT OBJECT AND
CAUSED BY THE GENTLE MERGER OF
TWO SEPARATE BODIES CREATING
WHAT WE CALL A CONTACT BINARY.
OKAY, AND THE FINAL GRAPHIC
THEY HAVE SHOWS ONE OF THE
OTHER VERY IMPORTANT ROLES
THAT LLORRI PLAYS ON THE LUCY
MISSION, THAT IS OPTICAL
NAVIGATION, AND THAT'S THE
SAME FUNCTION THAT THE LLORRI
INSTRUMENT ON NEW HORIZONS
PERFORMED, AND ON THE LEFT WE
SHOW AN IMAGE TAKEN 4 1/2
MONTHS BEFORE THE APPROACH
BEFORE THE CLOSE FLY-BY OF ARA
KOFF AND IT'S WITHIN THE IMAGE
OF WHERE THE CROSS IS BUT IN A
SEA OF BRIGHT STARS AND YOU
CAN'T REALLY SEE IT IN THE
IMAGE.
IF YOU DIGITALLY SUBTRACT OUT
THE STARS, YOU GET THE IMAGE
TO THE RIGHT AND YOU SEE THE
ARAKOFF POPPING OUT NICELY.
THE LLORRI IS DOING THE
SIMILAR THING, TWO MONTHS
BEFORE THE FLY-BY, WE'LL TRAIN
THE LLORRI TELESCOPE ON THE
LOCATION OF THE SKY WHERE WE
THINK THE TROJANS ARE AND
ACQUIRE THE TROJAN TARGETS AND
SYSTEMATICALLY MAKE
OBSERVATIONS OF THESE TARGETS
AS THE SPACECRAFT GETS CLOSER
AND CLOSER TO THE TARGET, AND
THE OPTICAL NAVIGATION TEAM
WILL ANALYZE THOSE IMAGES, AND
IT WILL MAKE SMALL TRAJECTORY
MANEUVERS, CORRECTIONS, THAT
ALLOW THE LUCY SPACECRAFT TO
HEAD EXACTLY WHERE WE DESIGNED
IT TO, AT THE RIGHT TIME.
AND WITH THAT, I THINK I'LL
SAY THANK YOU FOR YOUR
ATTENTION AND PASS IT ONTO
PHIL.
>> THANKS, HAL.
I'M GOING TO SPEND A FEW
MINUTES TALKING ABOUT THE LTES
INSTRUMENT.
WE USE INFRARED LIGHT TO
MEASURE THE TEMPERATURES OF
THE TROJANS.
IF I COULD HAVE THE FIRST
VIDEO, IT SHOWS A QUICK
OVERVIEW OF THE INSTRUMENT,
MUCH LIKE LLORRI IT'S A
TELESCOPE, BUT WE MEASURE
INFRARED LIGHT AND WE USE THE
INFRARED LIGHT TO DETERMINE
THE TEMPERATURE OF THE
OBJECTS.
THE TEMPERATURE TELLS US A
TREMENDOUS AMOUNT ABOUT THE
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF THE
SURFACE, AND SO VERY DENSE
ROCKS TAKE A LONG TIME TO HEAT
UP DURING THE DAY SO THEY ARE
COOL DURING THE DAY AND LOSE
HEAT SLOWLY AT NIGHT SO THEY
STAY WARM AT NIGHT.
FINE SAND, ON THE OTHER HAND,
IF YOU WALKED ACROSS A BEACH
AT NOON AND THE FINE SAND
HEATS UP, GETS VERY, VERY HOT
DURING THE DAY, LOSES
TEMPERATURE VERY RAPIDLY AT
NIGHT, AND SO BY COMPARING
THOSE DAY AND NIGHT
MEASUREMENTS WE DETERMINE IS
THE SURFACE MADE OF DENSE
BOULDER MATERIAL OR FINE GRAIN
DUST AND SAND?
THAT COMPLEMENTS THE VISIBLE
DATA WE'RE GETTING FROM THE
LLORRI AND THE LRALPH
INSTRUMENT.
THE NEXT VIDEO SHOWS AN
EXAMPLE OF THE TYPE OF DATA
WE'VE COLLECTED FOR, IN THIS
CASE, MARS.
WHAT YOU SEE IS AS THE PLANET
ROTATES, DAY TO NIGHT,
DIFFERENT MATERIALS HEAT UP
AND COOL DOWN VERY
DIFFERENTLY, SO FROM THAT
WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO SAY A LOT
ABOUT THE DISTRIBUTION OF
ROCKS AND DUST AND FINE GRAIN
MATERIALS, REALLY UNDERSTAND
THE GEOLOGY OF THE PLANET BY
LOOKING AT THE TEMPERATURE
DATA AND HOW THINGS CHANGE
DURING THE DAY.
MORE RECENTLY, LTES'S SISTER
INSTRUMENT ON THE OSIREIS
MISSION WENT TO THE ASTEROID
BANU, A TEMPERATURE MOVIE OF
BANU AND HERE, YOU CAN SEE
DIFFERENT MATERIALS HEAT UP
DIFFERENTLY THROUGHOUT THE
DAY.
ONE OF THE GREAT SURPRISES OF
THAT MISSION WAS THAT WE FOUND
THAT THESE HOUSE-SIZED
BOULDERS, WHAT WE THOUGHT WERE
BOULDERS WERE BEHAVING AS IF
THEY WERE VERY FINE GRAIN
MATERIAL, AND GETTING VERY HOT
DURING THE DAY AND VERY COLD
AT NIGHT, SO AGAIN, IT SHOWS
HOW THE INFRARED IMAGES
COMPLEMENT THE IMAGES IN THE
VISIBLE AND TELL US SOMETHING
ABOUT REMARKABLE WHAT LOOKED
TO BE BOULDERY MATERIAL IS
MATERIAL YOU COULD PROBABLY
CRUSH IN YOUR HAND.
SO AGAIN, POINTS TO THE
IMPORTANCE OF HAVING THIS
SUITE OF INSTRUMENTS LOOKING
AT DIFFERENT WAVELENGTHS.
THE LAST THING I'LL SAY IS A
FUN COMMENT THAT ALANA
REFERRED TO THAT WE ARE INDEED
TAKING DIAMONDS HIGH INTO THE
SKY.
THE NEXT GRAPHIC SHOWS THE
BEAM SPLITTER, IT'S A PART OF
THE INSTRUMENT THAT BREAKS THE
LIGHT, SEND IT IN TWO
DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS AND THE
UPPER LEFT CORNER YOU SEE ARE
DIAMOND, IT'S A DIAMOND
FLOATER THUMB AND FOREFINGER
FOR SCALE, YOU SEE HOW IT'S
MOUNTED INTO THE BEAM SPLITTER
AND THE BOTTOM RIGHT YOU SEE
HOW THE BEAM SPLITTER ENTERS
INTO THE INSTRUMENT.
SO WE TRULY ARE SENDING A
DIAMOND INTO THE SKY WITH
LUCY, AND AGAIN, IT'S A
FUNDAMENTAL PART OF THE
INSTRUMENT AND ALSO A FUN
ELEMENT OF THE MISSION.
WITH THAT, I'LL TURN IT OVER
TO DENNIS.
>> THANK YOU VERY MUCH, PHIL.
AND I'M VERY HAPPY TO BE HERE
TO DISCUSS THE LRALPH
INSTRUMENT ON LUCY, AND
L-RALPH IS ONE OF THE KEY
GOALS OF LUCY IS TO UNDERSTAND
THE COMPOSITION OF THE
SURFACES OF THE MATERIAL, OF
THE OBJECTS WE'RE GOING TO,
THE TROJANS WE'RE GOING TO AND
HOW THAT COMPOSITION IS
RELATED TO THE GEOLOGY, THE
MORPHOLOGY, THE SHAPE OF THE
SURFACE.
IS THERE ANY DIFFERENCES IN
THE COMPOSITION WHEN YOU'RE IN
A CRATER VERSUS A MOUNTAIN AND
SO ON AND SO FORTH?
GETTING THE DATA FROM LLORRI,
WHICH WE'LL LOOK AT A LOT OF
CRATERS AND TELL US HOW OLD
THEY ARE WILL ALLOW US TO SEE
IF THERE IS COORDINATION
BETWEEN THE COMPOSITION AND
HOW OLD THE SURFACE IS.
SO WE'RE KIND OF SEEING BOTH
FORMATION PROCESS AND THE
EVOLUTIONARY PROCESS.
IF I COULD GO TO THE FIRST
CHART, PLEASE?
NOW, L-RALPH IS TWO
INSTRUMENTS IN ONE.
IT HAS A VISIBLE NEAR INFRARED
FOCAL PLANE THAT ALLOWS US TO
KIND OF SEE WHAT YOU'D SEE
WITH YOUR EYES WHEN YOU GO
THROUGH IT.
IT HAS NARROW BAND CHANNELS
THAT LOOK AT COLORS IN SIX OR
SO WAVELENGTH BANDS AND
VISIBLE IN THE NEAR INFRARED,
CALLED M-VICK.
IT HAS AN INFRARED DETECTOR
CALLED LISA THAT LOOKS ONLY IN
THE INFRARED, STUFF THAT YOU
COULDN'T SEE, IT LOOKS IN NOT
FIVE OR SIX BANDS BUT EIGHT
BANDS BUT TELLS US WHAT THE
COMPOSITION OF THE SURFACE IS
BY LOOKING AT HOW THE
REFLECTION CHANGES AS A
FUNCTION OF WAVELENGTH.
L-RALPH HAS TO BE VERY COOL
BECAUSE THE INFRARED DETECTOR
CAN'T GET VERY WARM.
IT HAS TO GET DOWN TO 100
KELVIN, THAT'S LIKE MINUS 280
FAHRENHEIT, SO BECAUSE WE HAVE
TO STAY IN FOCUS ALL THE TIME,
WE MADE THE INSTRUMENT OUT OF
A SINGLE BLOCK OF ALUMINUM,
CUT IT ALL OUT, AND THEN MAKE
ALL THE INTERNAL STUFF OUT OF
IT, INCLUDING THE MIRRORS.
THAT WAY WHEN THINGS COOL
DOWN, EVERYTHING MOVES AT THE
SAME RATE AND IT STAYS IN
FOCUS.
BY THE WAY, THE MIRRORS ARE
MADE OUT OF ALUMINUM BUT
POLISHED WITH DIAMONDS.
WE DID OUR DIAMONDS BEFORE WE
WENT INTO THE SKY ON THIS.
IF I COULD HAVE -- SORRY ABOUT
THAT.
IF I COULD HAVE THE NEXT
CHART?
THIS IS WHY WE GO TO THE
OBJECTS RATHER THAN LOOKING AT
THEM FROM THE GROUND.
THIS IS AN IMAGE FROM THE
M-VICK FOCAL PLANE ON THE NEW
HORIZONS RALPH INSTRUMENT.
L-RALPH AND RALPH ARE CLOSELY
RELATED IN TERMS OF HOW THEY
WORK, BUT L-RALPH HAS A LOT
MORE CAPABILITY, AND I'LL
EXPLAIN THAT IN A SECOND.
ANY RATE, WHEN YOU LOOK AT
THIS PICTURE, YOU CAN SEE
AREAS THAT ARE RED AND WHITE,
AND THEY'RE QUITE SEPARATED.
THE WHITE AREAS LOOK LIKE
WHERE SOMETHING HAS MOVED UP
FROM THE GROUND.
THE RED AREAS LOOK LIKE
SOMETHING THAT'S BEEN ON THE
FLAT SURFACE THAT MOVED UP.
WELL, THAT MAY BE BECAUSE
THERE WAS SOMETHING DIFFERENT
UNDER THE GROUND WHERE THE
WHITE AREAS ARE, IT'S
REFLECTING ALL THE WHITE AND
ALL THE CHANNELS WE'RE LOOKING
AT.
OR MAYBE THAT THE AREAS ON THE
TOP HAVE AGED MORE BECAUSE
THEY'VE BEEN EXPOSED TO COSMIC
RADIATION AND SO ON FOR A
LONGER PERIOD.
BUT AGAIN, GETTING THIS
RESOLUTION, WE HAD IMAGES OF
PLUTO BEFORE WE GOT THERE, BUT
NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE THIS.
IF YOU GO TO THE NEXT CHART,
THIS IS AN IMAGE TAKEN --
EXCUSE ME, A MAP OF
COMPOSITIONS TAKEN WITH THE
LISA INSTRUMENT ON NEW
HORIZONS RALPH, AND HERE WE'RE
LOOKING AT WATER.
PURE WATER ICE, AND YOU CAN
SEE IT'S MODELED AROUND AND
LOW, MORE GREEN YOU GET, THE
MORE ICE THERE IS, AND YOU CAN
SEE AREAS WHERE THERE'S A LOT
OF WATER SITTING ON THE
SURFACE.
NOW, AGAIN, THAT SORT OF
INDICATES THAT SOMETHING IS
HAPPENING DIFFERENT ON THERE
AND THE MORE VOLATILE THINGS
THAT ARE ON PLUTO, THE
NITROGEN AND METHANE HAVE GONE
OFF OF THE SURFACE OR PERHAPS
SOMETHING HAD CRASHED AND
BROUGHT WATER IN, WHATEVER,
THAT'S THE TYPE OF THING WHEN
WE LOOK AT A BUNCH OF CASES,
YOU CAN START TO UNDERSTAND
THE HISTORY OF THE OBJECT.
HOW IT'S MADE AND AGED AFTER
IT WAS MADE.
IF YOU COULD GO TO THE NEXT
CHART, PLEASE?
THE NEXT CHART IS WHERE WE SEE
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN L-RALPH
ON LUCY AND RALPH ON NEW
HORIZONS BECAUSE THESE ARE
LONGER WAVELENGTH MAPS THAT
WERE TAKEN AT BENNU, THE SAME
OBJECT THAT PHIL WAS JUST
TALKING ABOUT, AND YOU CAN SEE
THAT THERE ARE AREAS ON THE
LEFT, THE LEFT SHOWS THE
WATER.
THIS IS NOT WATER LIKE ON
PLUTO, WHICH IS ICE.
THIS IS WATER THAT IS
INCORPORATED INTO THE SOIL,
AND INCORPORATED INTO THE
MATERIAL THAT MAKES UP THE
OBJECT.
KIND OF LIKE CLAY IN YOUR
BACKYARD, AND YOU CAN SEE
THERE ARE PLACES WHERE THERE
ARE CRATERS AND HAS A LOT MORE
WATER THAN OTHER PLACES AND
OTHER CRATERS THAT HAVE LESS
WATER.
AGAIN, ON THE LEFT, WHAT IT IS
A MAP OF THE THING THAT LOOKS
LIKE KIND OF THE MATERIALS
THAT MAKE UP ORGANIC
MOLECULES.
WE'RE NOT SAYING THESE ARE
ORGANIC MOLECULES BUT KIND OF
THE BUILDING LOCKS OF ORGANIC
MOLECULES, AND AGAIN, THERE'S
THIS NICE COLUMN, YOU CAN USE
THE MAPS TO GET A FEEL OF THE
CORRELATION BETWEEN
COMPOSITION AND SURFACE
STRUCTURE.
THAT'S WHAT WE'RE GOING TO DO
ON LUCY AND THE INFORMATION
THAT'S PROVIDED BY THE OTHER
INSTRUMENTS WHERE IT TELLS US
THE SIZE OF THINGS, AGE OF
THINGS, WHERE IT TELLS US THE
SIZE OF THE MATERIAL BECAUSE
IT'S GIVING THERMAL STRUCTURE,
HELP US ANALYZE THE DATA.
WE'RE REALLY LOOKING FORWARD
TO GETTING THE DATA AND
ANALYZING THEM OVER THE NEXT
20 YEARS.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH, AND
ALANA, I TURN IT BACK TO YOU.
>> THANK YOU SO MUCH, DENNIS.
THANK YOU TO ALL OF OUR
EXPERTS.
THE PHONE LINES ARE NOW OPEN.
PLEASE IDENTIFY YOURSELF, YOUR
OUTLET AND THE EXPERT YOU
WOULD LIKE TO ANSWER YOUR
QUESTION.
TO MAXIMIZE TODAY'S TIME,
PLEASE KEEP QUESTIONS CENTERED
ON LUCY'S MISSION SCIENCE.
OUR FIRST QUESTION COMES FROM
HAL KING ON FACEBOOK WHO ASKS,
COULD THE TROJAN ASTEROIDS BE
THE REMNANTS OF JUPITER'S
MOONS IN ADDITION TO JUPITER?
I'M GOING TO TOSS THAT TO
KEITH.
>> THAT WAS WHAT PEOPLE
THOUGHT 30 YEARS AGO, AND WHAT
WE'VE LEARNED SINCE THEN IS
THAT, IN FACT, THE JUPITER
TROJANS DO NOT HAVE A
CONNECTION TO JUPITER OTHER
THAN THE FACT THAT JUPITER
PROVIDES THIS LITTLE
STABILIZING INFLUENCE, AND SO
THE GOAL OF LUCY IS REALLY TO
TRY TO UNDERSTAND HOW AND
WHERE THE TROJANS CAME FROM,
BUT WE'RE PRETTY SURE IT'S NOT
FROM ANYWHERE NEAR JUPITER.
THE OTHER POINT I'LL MAKE IS
IT'S OFTEN SAID THAT THE
TROJANS ARE NEAR JUPITER.
THEY'RE REALLY FAR FROM
JUPITER.
IN FACT, THE CLOSEST THAT THE
LUCY SPACECRAFT WILL EVER BE
TO JUPITER IS WHEN IT'S NEAR
THE EARTH.
WHEN WE'RE IN THE TROJANS,
WE'RE FARTHER AWAY FROM
JUPITER THAN WE ARE AT THE
TIME WHEN WE'RE FLYING PAST
THE EARTH.
>> THANK YOU.
WE HAVE OUR NEXT QUESTION
COMES FROM MICHAEL GRESHCOW
FROM "NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC."
>> THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR
DOING THIS.
I THINK THE QUESTION MIGHT BE
FOR CATHY.
YOU MENTIONED IN YOUR OPENING
REMARKS THAT THE MASS
DETERMINATION WILL BE AN
IMPORTANT PART OF THAT, AND
YOU'LL DO THAT IN PART THROUGH
CHECKING THE DOPPLER SHIFT.
I WAS WONDERING IF YOU COULD
SPEAK TO HOW IMPORTANT SOME OF
THE BINARY SYSTEMS OF THE
MISSION WILL BE, THE PETROCLUS
AND EURYBATES.
>> YES, YOU CAN GET THE SYSTEM
MASS WITHOUT HAVING A FLY-BY,
THAT'S VERY HELPFUL FOR
UNDERSTANDING THE DENSITY OF
BINARY SYSTEMS.
FOR OBJECTS LIKE LUCAS AND
ORIS, OTHER TARGETS THAT
AREN'T BINEARIES AND WE REALLY
WANT TO BE ABLE TO GET THE
MASS DETERMINATION FROM THE
FLY-BY, AND WE WILL, USING THE
DOPPLER SHIFT.
WITH THE PETROCCLUS AND
MENECIUS, THEY OPERATE LIKE
THIS, LIKE A DUMBBELL ROTATING
AROUND THE SAME POSITION IN
SPACE, AND CAN YOU MEASURE
THAT MOTION RELATIVE TO THE
CENTER OF MASS TO GET THE MASS
RATIO BETWEEN THE TWO OF THOSE
OBJECTS, AND WE WILL ALSO BE
DOING THAT AS WE APPROACH OUR
TROJAN ASTEROIDS, SO THAT WE
HAVE NOT ONLY THE SYSTEM MASS
THAT YOU GET FROM A BINARY
SYSTEM BUT THEN THE INDIVIDUAL
MASSES OF EACH OF THOSE
COMPONENTS.
>> CAN I ADD TO THAT A LITTLE
BIT?
>> PLEASE DO.
>> THE OTHER PIECE OF THIS IS
WHEN YOU ARE TRYING TO
DETERMINE THE DENSITY, YOU
ALSO NEED TO KNOW THE VOLUME,
AND WHAT LUCY IS GOING TO GIVE
US IS A VERY, VERY GOOD
DETERMINATION OF THE VOLUME
FOR OUR TARGETS BUT FROM OUR
IMAGING, FOR THE TARGETS WHERE
WE ALREADY HAVE A PRETTY GOOD
HANDLE ON THE SYSTEM MASS,
WE'LL DO A LITTLE BETTER ON
DETERMINING THE MASS, WE'LL DO
MUCH, MUCH BETTER ON
DETERMINING THE VOLUME.
THAT'S WHAT GIVES US THE
DENSITY MEASUREMENTS.
>> OKAY, THANK YOU.
OKAY, GOING BACK TO SOCIAL
MEDIA.
THIS ONE I'M GOING TO THROW TO
PHIL.
WD ON TWITTER ASKS, I FELL IN
LOVE WITH LUCY'S MISSION AFTER
WORKING ON THE RELATED NASA
SPACE APPS CHALLENGE.
WHAT DO YOU THINK IS CERTAIN
TO BE FOUND ON THESE
ASTEROIDS?
>> I THINK THE THING THAT
WE'RE CERTAIN IS ABOUT IS WE
WILL BE SURPRISED.
THE REASON WE GO TO THE
OBJECTS IS WE DON'T KNOW MUCH
ABOUT THEM, SO EVERYWHERE
WE'VE GONE IN THE SOLAR
SYSTEM, WE'VE BEEN SURPRISED.
AND SO I THINK IT WOULD ALMOST
BE PREMATURE FOR US TO BE
SPECULATING WHAT WE MIGHT
FIND.
THE EXCITEMENT IS WE'RE
EXPLORING, TRYING TO FIGURE
OUT WHAT THEY ARE LIKE, SO I
WOULD SAY IT'S SURPRISE IS
WHAT IT'S GOING TO BE THE
THING THEY EXPECT THE MOST.
>> GREAT.
ANYBODY ELSE HAVE ANY
SURPRISES OR ANYTHING YOU
THINK IS CERTAIN TO BE FOUND?
>> WELL, I DON'T KNOW ABOUT
WHAT'S CERTAIN TO BE FOUND,
BUT WE SET OUT WITH A PURPOSE
OF UNDERSTANDING THE DIVERSITY
OF THESE TARGETS, AND SO
THERE'S DIVERSITY IN THE
TROJAN ASTEROIDS AND WE'RE
GOING TO BE SEEING LOTS OF
DIFFERENT TROJAN ASTEROID
TYPES.
REMNANT OF A COLLISION AND
NEAR EQUAL MASS BINARY.
ALSO OBJECTS THAT ARE MORE RED
ON THE SURFACE AND LESS RED ON
THE SURFACE, BUT WE DON'T KNOW
MUCH MORE THAN THAT, LIKE PHIL
SAID.
SO WHAT I THINK WE WILL KNOW
IS WE'LL ADVANCE OUR
UNDERSTANDING BY BEING ABLE TO
MAKE COMPARISONS BETWEEN THESE
OBJECTS, BY SEEING SEVEN
DIFFERENT TROJAN ASTEROIDS,
WE'RE GOING TO MAKE SO MANY
COMPARISONS ABOUT THESE
OBJECTS.
I'M ALSO REALLY LOOKING
FORWARD TO COMPARING THE
TROJAN ASTEROIDS TO OTHER
SMALL BODY POPULATIONS IN OUR
SOLAR SYSTEM.
THERE'S BEEN OTHER GREAT
MISSIONS BY NASA TO THE SMALL
BODY POPULATIONS AND BE ABLE
TO LEVERAGE AND LEARN FROM
THAT AS WELL.
>> OUR NEXT QUESTION COMES
FROM KEN KRAMER, SPACE
UPCLOSE.
GO AHEAD, KEN.
>> HI, THANK YOU FOR DOING
THIS, AND GOOD LUCK WITH THE
LAUNCH.
MY QUESTION FOR HAL WEAVER,
PLEASE, SINCE YOU MENTIONED
ARAKOFF, CAN YOU DESCRIBE THE
FLY-BY SPEEDS OF THE TROJANS
COMPARED TO WHAT YOU FLEW BY
PLUTO AND ARAKOFF AND HOW DO
THE OBJECTS DIFFER, COMPARE
AND CONTRAST THEM TO THE TEST
MOLDS IN THE KUIPER BELT.
>> HI, KEN, THOSE ARE GREAT
QUESTIONS.
AS FAR AS THE FLY-BY SPEEDS
GO, FORTUNATELY WE'LL BE
FLYING BY THE TROJAN OBJECTS
IN ROUGHLY THREE OR FOUR TIMES
SLOWER THAN WHAT WE FLEW BY
ARAKOFF WITH NEW HORIZONS, THE
FASTEST SPACECRAFT EVER TO
LEAVE THE EARTH ON, A BEELINE
TO THE PLUTO SYSTEM AND FLEW
BY ARAKOFF.
THE OTHER ADVANTAGE OF THE
LUCY MISSION IS THAT WE'RE
PLANNING TO GO MUCH CLOSER
AROUND 600 MILES AWAY TO MOST
OF THE TROJANS AS OPPOSED TO
2,000 MILES AWAY FOR THE
ARAKOFF FLY-BY.
SO YOU SAW THAT PICTURE, THE
BEAUTIFUL LLORRI PICTURE OF
ARAKOFF, WE'LL HAVE FOUR TIMES
BETTER RESOLUTION FOR THE
TROJANS.
WE'RE EXCITED TO SEE WHAT KIND
OF SURFACE DETAILS WE'LL SEE
ON THESE TROJANS, AND AS CATHY
WAS SAYING EARLIER AND KEITH
ALSO, YOU DON'T JUST STOP AT
ONE.
YOU HAVE EIGHT DIFFERENT
OBJECTS TO FLY BY.
THIS IS PRETTY INCREDIBLE, AND
IT'S GOING TO BE NEAT TO
CREATE JUST A WONDERFUL BOOK
OF WHAT THE TROJAN, WHAT THE
TROJANS LOOK LIKE, AND THAT
WILL ENABLE US TO GO TO THE
NEXT STEP, PERHAPS A MISSION
LATER, TO ACTUALLY ORBIT ONE
OF THE MORE INTERESTING ONES
IN THE TROJAN REGIONS, AND
KEN, IN COMPARING AND
CONTRASTING, YEAH, IN THE
OUTER SOLAR SYSTEM, THE
COLLISIONAL SPEEDS WERE
GENERALLY LOWER AND SO IN
ARACOFF'S CASE, YOU HAD THE
TWO SEPARATE BODIES THAT CAME
TOGETHER IN A GENTLE
COLLISION, THE SPEEDS AND THE
REGIONS WHERE THE TROJANS
FORMED WERE A BIT HIGHER, AND
MAYBE, YOU KNOW, THE PHYSICS
OF THE COLLISION SAYS
DIFFERENT FOR THAT REASON.
SO WHO KNOWS WHAT WE'RE GOING
TO SEE ON THESE OBJECTS.
THIS IS THE FIRST OPPORTUNITY
TO LOOK AT THEM CLOSE UP.
SO, YOU KNOW, IT'S JUST REALLY
NEAT.
IN THE 50 YEARS, 55 YEARS OF
SPACE EXPLORATION BY ROBOTIC
SPACECRAFT, EVERY TIME WE GO
TO A NEW BODY WE DISCOVER
INCREDIBLE NEW THINGS.
SO I THINK THAT WILL PROVE
TRUE IN THE CASE OF THE LUCY
MISSION.
>> GREAT, THANK YOU SO MUCH.
>> THANK YOU.
>> OUR NEXT QUESTION COMES
FROM MICHAEL GRESHCO,
"NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC."
GO AHEAD, MICHAEL.
>> HI, I THINK THIS IS A
QUESTION FOR MULTIPLE FOLKS.
YOU ALL HAVE ALLUDED TO THE
FACT THAT THESE INSTRUMENTS
DRAW ON THE HERITAGE OF THE
NEW HORIZONS MISSION.
I WAS WONDERING WITH THESE
INSTRUMENTS AND IN SORT OF THE
PLANNED USE OF THEM, WHAT
KINDS OF LESSONS LEARNED THERE
HAVE BEEN IN EARTH THE DESIGN
OR THE BUILD OR EVEN SORT OF
THE DATA PROCESSING LOOKING AT
NEW HORIZONS?
THANKS.
>> I COULD START OFF WITH
THAT.
THANKS FOR THOSE QUESTIONS,
MIKE.
YEAH, IN THE CASE OF LLORRI
COMPARED TO LUCY LLORRI, THERE
WERE SEVERAL LESSONS TO BE
LEARNED, INCLUDING CHANGES TO
THE WAY THE ELECTRONICS READS
OUT DETECTOR.
WE HAD THESE LITTLE BLACK
TAILS ON SOME OF THE NEW
HORIZONS IMAGES THAT WE TOOK
AND ELIMINATED THAT.
THAT PARTICULAR ISSUE.
WE HAD TO ACTUALLY MAKE THE
TELESCOPE STRONGER THAN WHAT
WE HAD FOR NEW HORIZONS
BECAUSE THE REQUIREMENTS FOR
THE LAUNCH CONDITIONS WERE
MORE STRENUOUS, AND SO JUST
WHEREVER -- AND THERE WAS
MAYBE A PAGE OF VARIOUS
LESSONS THAT WE LEARNED FROM
NEW HORIZONS THAT WE TRY TO
APPLY TO THE LUCY MISSION, SO
IT'S NICE WHEN YOU CAN DO THAT
AND MAKE IMPROVEMENTS, AND
WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO MAKE
SURE THAT WE REALLY EXECUTED
SUCCESSFULLY IN THE NEXT YEAR.
>> YEAH, AND AS FAR AS RALPH
IS CONCERNED, THERE ACTUALLY
ARE A FAIR NUMBER OF THINGS.
FIRST ONE IS WE EXTENDED THE
WAVELENGTH REGION, SO LOOK IN
THE AREA WHERE THE
ORGANIC-TYPE MOLECULES ARE BY
GOING TO THE LONGER
WAVELENGTH.
WE ALSO MADE IT SO WHEN WE DO
THE MEASUREMENTS IN THE COLORS
USING MVIC, WE CAN SET THE
INTEGRATION TIME OF EACH COLOR
SEPARATELY SO WHEN WE'RE
SCANNING THROUGH, WE CAN MAKE
SURE WE GET GOOD SIGNAL TO
NOISE ON ALL OF THEM BUT ALSO
MAKE SURE NONE OF THEM ARE
SATURATED, AND ALSO ADDED A
MIRROR THAT SCANS THE IMAGE
ACROSS THE FOCAL PLANES OF
MVIC AND LEISA AND THE MIRROR
IS BETTER CONTROLLED IN TERMS
OF HOW QUICKLY IT MOVES, HOW
WELL WE KNOW IT MOVES, AND SO
ON AND SO FORTH.
THAT ALLOWS US TO SCAN FASTER.
WE HAVE MORE PIXELS TO SCAN
FASTER AND GET THE SAME
INTEGRATION TIME AND GET OUR
SAME INTENSITY.
SO ALL THOSE TYPES OF THINGS
AND THEN ALSO ADDED IN SOME ON
BOARD MEMORY, SO WE DON'T HAVE
TO WORRY ABOUT HOW MUCH DATA
WE'RE TAKING WHEN WE DO A
FLY-BY AND DUMP TO THE
SPACECRAFT RIGHT AWAY, WE CAN
HOLD ONTO IT FOR A WHILE, MAKE
SURE IT'S THERE AND DUMP IT
LATER.
AND THERE ARE OTHER OPTICS
CHANGES.
THAT'S THE THING, WE MADE IT
SO WE CAN DO FASTER, MORE
UNIFORMED SCANS WITH LONGER
WAVELENGTHS.
>> I'D LIKE TO ADD ONE OTHER
THING, SO WE ALSO ACROSS BOTH
INSTRUMENTS ADDED WHAT WE CALL
A TACTICAL UPDATE PARAMETER.
SO WE DON'T HAVE GREAT
KNOWLEDGE OF HOW BRIGHT THESE
OBJECTS ARE, WHEN YOU'RE
LOOKING AWAY FROM THE SUN,
BECAUSE FROM EARTH'S VANTAGE
POINT, YOU'RE ALMOST ALWAYS
LOOKING NEAR NOONTIME ON THE
TROJAN ASTEROIDS, AND WE'RE
GOING TO BE APPROACHING AT THE
DAY-NIGHT TERMINATOR, SO THE
LOCATION BETWEEN DAY AND NIGHT
ON THE OBJECTS, AND THAT'S THE
ANGLE WE'RE APPROACHING AT,
AND WE PUT IN A TACTICAL
UPDATE PARAMETER WHICH ALLOWS
US TO CHANGE THE EXPOSURE TIME
ON SELECTED OBSERVATION
PHYSICAL WE DECIDE, AS WE GET
CLOSER, THAT WE NEED A LITTLE
BIT LONGER EXPOSURE OR SHORTER
EXPOSURE TIME TO ADJUST THE
SIGNAL AND NOISE OF OUR
OBSERVATIONS BECAUSE WE HAVE
TO KEEP THIS IN MIND, IT'S A
RECONNAISSANCE MISSION.
WE'VE NEVER SEEN THESE OBJECTS
UPCLOSE, AND THIS IS ONE OF
THE THINGS WE'RE DOING TO MAKE
SURE THAT WE HAVE A ROBUST AND
RESILIENT CONCEPT OF
OPERATIONS SO WE CAN BE
SUCCESSFUL IN OUR SCIENTIFIC
RETURN.
>> OKAY.
OUR NEXT QUESTION COMES FROM
SOCIAL MEDIA.
ELIZABETH ON TWITTER ASKS, HOW
WILL YOU FIND OUT WHERE IN THE
SOLAR SYSTEM OR POSSIBLY
BEYOND THE TROJANS ORIGINATED
AND HOW THEY GOT TO WHERE THEY
ARE TODAY?
ALSO, ARE THERE ANY PLANS FOR
LUCY ONCE PRIMARY MISSION IS
COMPLETE?
>> I CAN START AND YOU GUYS
CAN CHIME IN.
I'M SURE WE ALL HAVE SOMETHING
TO SAY THERE.
SO THERE'S LOTS OF INDICATORS
ABOUT WHERE OBJECTS FORMED IN
THE SOLAR SYSTEM.
THINGS LIKE, IF YOU SEE ICES
ON THE SURFACE, AND THERE'S
DIFFERENT TYPES OF ICES, WATER
ICE AND METHANE ICE AND OTHER
ICES, AND MANY OF THOSE ARE
REALLY ONLY STABLE MUCH
FURTHER OUT IN THE SOLAR
SYSTEM THAN THE TROJAN
ASTEROIDS ARE AT NOW.
SO IF WE WERE TO LOOK INSIDE,
SAY, A FRESH CRATER LIKE I WAS
TALKING ABOUT PREVIOUSLY, A
CRATER LESS THAN 100 MILLION
YEARS OLD AND WERE TO SEE SOME
SPECIFIC ICES, THAT WOULD BE A
GREAT INDICATOR THAT THE
TROJAN ASTEROIDS FORMED
FURTHER AWAY.
DENSITY IS ANOTHER SUCH
INDICATOR, BUT THERE'S NO
SINGLE MEASUREMENT THAT WILL
TELL US EXACTLY.
THAT'S WHY WE NEED A SUITE OF
INSTRUMENTS TO PUT THE PUZZLE
TOGETHER.
>> WOULD ANYBODY ELSE LIKE TO
CHIME IN?
>> CATHY DID A GREAT JOB.
>> CATHY TOOK CARE OF ALL OF
IT.
>> ONE EXTRA THING IS A LOT OF
THE PUBLIC MIGHT NOT RECOGNIZE
THERE'S BEEN A REVOLUTION IN
OUR IDEAS HOW THE SOLAR SYSTEM
FORMED.
IN THE FIRST TEN BILLION YEARS
OR SO, THAT INSTEAD OF THE
OBJECTS IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM
BEING WHERE THEY ARE NOW, IT
WAS ACTUALLY A LOT OF RADIAL
MIGRATION, THE GIANT PLANETS
CAME IN TOWARDS THE SUN AND
BACK OUT AGAIN, REALLY MIXING
EVERYTHING UP, AND YOU KNOW,
THAT'S THE REASON WHY WE THINK
WE HAVE SUCH DIVERSITY IN THE
TROJANS.
IT COLLECTED IN THESE
GRAVITATIONAL RUTS, SO TO
SPEAK, OBJECTS THAT FORMED IN
MULTIPLE DIFFERENT DISTANCES
FROM THE SUN, AND, IN FACT, A
PRIMARY REASON WHY THE TROJANS
ARE SO INTERESTING.
>> OKAY.
WE HAVE ELIZABETH RAIN FROM
SCI-FI WIRE IS ASKING, IF SOME
OF THE TROJANS WERE PIECES OF
FORMER PLANETS, HOW WILL YOU
BE ABLE TO FIND THAT OUT?
TOSS THAT OVER TO KEITH.
>> I DON'T THINK -- SO IT'S
SORT OF THE OPPOSITE WAY WE
THINK ABOUT THEM NOW, AND I'LL
ADD ON A LITTLE BIT TO WHAT
CATHY WAS SAYING.
WHEN WE FLY BY, THERE ISN'T
GOING TO BE A LABEL ON THE
OBJECT SAYING MADE IN THE
OUTER SOLAR SYSTEM WITH, A
DATE STAMP.
SO IT REALLY IS PUTTING
TOGETHER CLUES AND REALLY ALL
WE CAN DO IS GET ALL THE DATA
THAT WE CAN GET, BUT WE DO
HAVE AN EVOLVING AND PRETTY
GOOD UNDERSTANDING OF HOW
GIANT PLANETS AND PLANETS IN
THE INNER SOLAR SYSTEM FORMED
AND WE DON'T THINK THAT THESE
OBJECTS IN THE OUTER
PROTOPLANETARY EVER FORMED A
PLANET.
THEY WOULD HAVE IF THEY HAD
BEEN LEFT ALONE LONG ENOUGH,
BUT WHEN THE GIANT PLANETS
STARTED MOVING AROUND AND
SHUFFLED UP REMAINING STUFF,
DATA GOT SCATTERED.
MOST OF THEM ARE LOST
COMPLETELY FROM THE SOLAR
SYSTEM, SOME ENDED UP IN THE
KUIPER BELT.
SOME GOT TRAPPED IN THE
TROJANS, BUT PIECING THAT
STORY TOGETHER AND LOOKING FOR
EVIDENCE THAT EITHER SUPPORTS
THAT OR REJECTS THAT
HYPOTHESIS, THAT'S WHAT WE'RE
GOING TO DO AND WE'RE GOING TO
GATHER THE DATA AND SEE WHERE
THE DATA LEAD US.
>> OKAY.
FROM SOCIAL MEDIA AGAIN, HOW
CLOSE WILL LUCY GET TO THE
EARTH WHEN IT COMES BACK FOR
GRAVITY ASSIST?
CATHY?
>> WE HAVE THREE EARTH GRAVITY
ASSISTS, AS WE'RE FLYING ON
OUR TRAJECTORY OF NEARLY 4
BILLION MILES, AND OUR FIRST
EARTH GRAVITY ASSIST IS THE
CLOSEST.
WE COME BACK NEAR THE EARTH
ABOUT A YEAR FROM NOW, AND
WE'RE GOING TO FLY BY AT 300
KILOMETERS BOTH THE EARTH'S
SURFACE.
THIS IS VERY CLOSE.
IT'S UNDER MANY SATELLITES,
UNDER THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE
STATION.
UNDER THE HUBBLE SPACE
TELESCOPE.
SO WE'RE GOING TO COME BACK
BY, WE'RE GOING TO FLY BY AND
HEAD OUT.
ACTUALLY, I'M HOPING TO MAYBE
BE ABLE TO GO NEAR WHERE IT
FLIES PAST AND LOOK UP AT THE
SKY AND SEE LUCY FLYING BY A
YEAR FROM NOW.
IT'S REALLY INTERESTING THAT
OUR SPACECRAFT WILL CYCLE FROM
THE INNER SOLAR SYSTEM AND THE
OUTER SOLAR SYSTEM, AND IT'S
GOING TO CONTINUE TO DO THAT
IN A SIX-YEAR CADENCE.
>> OKAY.
THAT'S ALL THE TIME WE HAVE
FOR TODAY.
THANK YOU TO THE MEDIA AND TO
OUR ENTHUSIASTS ON SOCIAL
MEDIA FOR THE QUESTIONS AND TO
OUR PANEL.
PLEASE JOIN US AT 3:00 P.M.
EASTERN FOR THE LUCY
ENGINEERING BRIEFING.
YOU CAN FIND ALL OF OUR FULL
LUCY PROGRAMMING LINEUP AND
MISSION UPDATES AT
NASA.GOV/LUCY.
YOU CAN ALSO KEEP THE
CONVERSATION GOING ON SOCIAL
MEDIA, USING THE #LUCY
MISSION, AND BE SURE TO SET
YOUR ALARMS EARLY TO WATCH
LUCY LAUNCH ON SATURDAY
MORNING OCTOBER 16.
LIVE COVERAGE BEGINS AT 5:00
A.M. EASTERN WITH LIFTOFF
SCHEDULED FOR 5:34 A.M.
EASTERN.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING
US.
GO NASA AND GO LUCY.