{"id":212111,"date":"2025-03-11T15:07:50","date_gmt":"2025-03-12T01:07:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=212111"},"modified":"2025-03-11T15:07:50","modified_gmt":"2025-03-12T01:07:50","slug":"nasa-lucy-mission-emily-costello","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2025\/03\/11\/nasa-lucy-mission-emily-costello\/","title":{"rendered":"NASA<\/abbr> selects 东精影业<\/abbr> M\u0101noa planetary scientist for Lucy asteroid mission"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
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Artist’s concept of Lucy spacecraft near a Jupiter Trojan asteroid. (Photo credit: NASA)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Emily Costello, a planetary scientist at the University of Hawaiʻi<\/span> at M\u0101noa, was selected by NASA<\/abbr><\/a> as one of eight participating scientists to join its Lucy mission<\/a> to the Jupiter Trojan asteroids. These asteroids are remnants of the early solar system trapped on stable orbits associated with, but not close to, the planet Jupiter.<\/p>\n

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Emily Costello<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On the Lucy mission, Costello will contribute to the goal of understanding the nature and history of Trojan asteroids by providing insights into the role of meteoritic impacts in shaping the surfaces of the Trojans.<\/p>\n

“Impacts are a pervasive geological process on small bodies, so it is critical that we accurately decipher how these impacts shape the formation and evolution of the asteroids,” said Costello, who is a researcher at the Hawaiʻi<\/span> Institute of Geophysics and Planetology<\/a> in the 东精影业<\/abbr> M\u0101noa School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology<\/a> (SOEST<\/abbr>).<\/p>\n

The impact of impacts<\/h2>\n

Launched in 2021, the Lucy<\/a> spacecraft is the first space mission to explore the diverse group of small bodies known as the Jupiter Trojan asteroids. Trojan asteroids orbit in two “swarms” that lead and follow Jupiter in its orbit around the Sun.<\/p>\n

Impacts from meteors mix the surface of these bodies and muddle geologic layers, called strata. Impacts play a crucial role in erasing and homogenizing certain surface features, such as crater rays, and in the evolution of chemical and physical characteristics. Costello will provide the Lucy team with a key piece of the surface geology puzzle, leveraging her impact modeling expertise and targeted observations of craters and the material they propel outward.<\/p>\n

“The history written and rewritten by impacts will influence the interpretation of all observations by the Lucy mission’s scientific instruments that view Trojan surfaces,” Costello said. “So, it’s thrilling to be able to help interpret the first ever close-up look at these likely ancient asteroids.”<\/p>\n

More about the Lucy mission<\/h2>\n

Over its 12-year mission, Lucy will explore a record-breaking number of asteroids, flying by three asteroids in the solar system\u2019s main asteroid belt, and by eight Trojan asteroids that share an orbit around the Sun with Jupiter. Lucy also will fly by Earth three times to get a push from its gravity, making it the first spacecraft to return to the vicinity of Earth from the outer solar system.<\/p>\n

Visit the SOEST<\/abbr> website for the entire story<\/a> and see the NASA<\/abbr> announcement<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Related 东精影业<\/abbr> News<\/em> stories on Costello:<\/p>\n