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NASA to deploy to asteroid missions to study more of the universe

By Alicia Carlton | Jan 09, 2017 09:39 PM EST
Space Shuttle Atlantis To Repair Hubble Space Telescope
(Photo : NASA via Getty Images) In this handout from NASA, Astronaut Andrew Feustel, STS-125 mission specialist, navigates around the Hubble Space Telescope on the end of the remote manipulator system arm, controlled from inside Atlantis' crew cabin May 16, 2009 in Space.

NASA told the press last week that they will launch two new missions to asteroids to learn more about the universe. The two missions are called Lucy and Pscyche.

Based on Earth Sky's report, the Lucy mission will focus on studying the Trojan asteroids that is stuck under Jupiter's gravity. Everything the human race needs to know about this specific asteroid will be covered by this first mission.

The next one, known as the Psyche mission, will be out there to discover an extremely huge and rare object that is found in the asteroid of the solar system. The said object is made of metal and experts are saying that it could be something from a core layer of a planet, which could have accidentally lost their outer layers due to a number of intense collisions.

A photo posted by NASA (@nasa) on Jan 6, 2017 at 3:44pm PST

The first mission is expected to take flight in 2021 while the second in 2023. During an interview with the press, NASA's Thomas Zurbuchen said that the Lucy mission aims to find out what is the deal with Trojan asteroids. They remain mysterious over the years and it would appear that soon mankind will know more of Jupiter's rich environment through this.

Zurbuchen continued saying that on the other hand, Psyche will focus on the unique metal no one has ever gone before. He also explained what really takes place during Discovery Program missions like this and it is more about bravely exploring places to create a breakthrough in the field of science. Zurbuchen is an associate administrator for Science Mission Directorate in Washington,

USA Today also reported that the mission with Lucy won't be until 2025. It is when it will technically land at the main belt of the asteroid. It will start studying and examining the vicinity starting 2027 until 2033. Needless to say, both the two missions would take a while before scientists will find answers to their queries regarding the two asteroids.

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