Forget about your traditional Easter Sunday relaxation—this year, the astronomy world is gearing up for an extraordinary event!

NASA's Lucy spacecraft is on a mission to uncover the mysteries of our solar system, and on April 20, 2025, it will fly past the intriguing asteroid Donaldjohanson at precisely 1:51 p.m. EDT (1751 GMT). This close encounter promises to be an exhilarating moment for space enthusiasts and researchers alike.

Launched in 2021, Lucy has embarked on a 12-year journey aimed at exploring the vastness of Jupiter’s orbit, where it will encounter a total of eight Trojan asteroids. This groundbreaking mission aims to unlock the secrets of the universe's origins and potentially reveal the building blocks necessary for life.

A Dress Rehearsal Before the Main Event

Before reaching its final destination, Lucy had already completed a successful flyby of the asteroid Dinkinesh on November 1, 2023. This upcoming flyby of Donaldjohanson serves as a critical test of the spacecraft's scientific instruments, which include advanced tools like L'Ralph, a color camera and infrared imaging spectrometer, and L'LLORI, the high-resolution Lucy Long Range Reconnaissance Imager.

Understanding Our Celestial Neighbors

Professor Phil Christensen of Arizona State University, who designed the Lucy Thermal Emission Spectrometer (L'TES), expressed his enthusiasm in a recent interview. He highlighted that this flyby will enable the team to analyze Donaldjohanson just like they would for the Trojan asteroids, revealing vital information about its composition.

A Connection That Goes Beyond Space

The namesake of Lucy connects deeply with human history. The spacecraft gets its name from a 3-million-year-old fossil discovered by paleoanthropologist Donald Johanson in Ethiopia, which has been pivotal in our understanding of human evolution. During discussions about the mission, Johanson humorously entertained the notion of naming a potential secondary asteroid that might be discovered during the flyby.

"I’ll need to put some serious thought into that!" Johanson quipped, sparking excitement about the possibilities of future discoveries.

As Easter approaches, the excitement builds around NASA's Lucy mission. Mark your calendars for April 20, 2025, and get ready to witness an astronomical event that’s sure to captivate the world!