NASA’s Lucy Mission Mistaken for the Closest Asteroid Flyby of 2022—Space Garbage Problems

NASA's Lucy Centaur mission was thought of as an asteroid that is making a close flyby to the planet, and it alerted multiple astronomers as they survey space for any potentially harmful objects from the cosmos. The discovery was thought to be the closest asteroid flyby of 2022 and it sent alerts to all but is now a false alarm.

The growing case of space garbage makes it hard for astronomers to discern an asteroid from objects from previous missions, growing a problem for the world.

NASA's Lucy Mission is Mistaken for an Asteroid Flying By

According to CNET, it took astronomers a day to determine the asteroid that is flying by the Earth is the NASA Lucy Mission, highly regarded as the closest space rock drawing close to the planet for 2022.

The astronomers already labeled the then-unidentified space object as 2022 UQ1, and with careful and close monitoring, were able to identify it as the NASA spacecraft.

The Lucy spacecraft have already floated around space for over a year, with the threat it posed thought of as an asteroid that is heading near the planet.

Space Garbage is a Growing Problem Now

The spacecraft was first spotted by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) telescope in Chile and followed by multiple reports from other skywatchers. According to Tony Dunn, the NASA Lucy mission went back to the planet for its gravitational assistance, with the spacecraft making its return a year later its launch.

The World's Space Garbage Problems

There is a massive problem in space now, and these are the floating items present in the orbit and different locations that astronomers are now getting wary of for the future of the human race. Apparently, studies regarding the space garbage present around the world may trap humans when there would be a time for a mass exodus from the planet.

It is indeed a problem now, and space is polluted because of the technology which humans leave behind in orbit, and everyone in the space industry is guilty of it.

Space junk is not only a threat to astronauts and to when a time comes when humans need to escape the planet, as there is a calculated ten percent chance that it might fall back to the planet and cause fatalities.

The area prone to this hazard is the Global South, and while this is a conservative estimate, it still should not be brushed off or taken lightly.

The Lucy Mission perception was a miss for astronomers, and it only proves that space garbage is a massive problem in the cosmic missions and industry present in the world. The good news is that this was a false alarm, particularly as it went back to advancing to the planet for gravitational assistance, but if astronomers perceive it wrongly, then it is a problem for all.

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Written by Isaiah Richard