NASA's Lucy Cracks a 155-Million-Year Asteroid Mystery

Lucy flew just 650 miles from asteroid Donaldjohanson on 20 April 2025 at about 30,000 mph.

The 5-mile rock is two lobes joined at a neck — a peanut formed by a collision 155 million years ago.

It doesn't spin cleanly; it tumbles on two axes, rotating once every 10.5 days and wobbling every 26.5.

Iron-rich clays on its surface point to a brief brush with liquid water long ago.

The real mission starts in 2027, when Lucy reaches Jupiter's untouched Trojan asteroids.