UAE Observatory Supports NASA’s Lucy Mission

The UAE’s Al Khatim Observatory in Abu Dhabi has contributed significantly to NASA’s “Lucy” mission, conducting essential astronomical observations to assist in navigating a spacecraft launched in 2021. This mission aims to explore asteroids near Jupiter, emphasizing the UAE’s growing prominence in global space exploration and scientific collaboration.

On July 4, 2024, a request from a British observatory supervising global campaigns highlighted the UAE’s strategic location for observing a binary asteroid system near Jupiter. This rare system, consisting of 617 Patroclus and its companion Menoetius, orbits every 103 hours. These asteroids are part of the spacecraft’s targets, scheduled for exploration in 2033.

Observing changes in brightness during transit events allowed scientists to refine the asteroids’ geometry, critical for mission success. These observations, only possible during specific alignments from Earth, require precise timing and expertise.

Director Mohammad Shawkat Odeh emphasized the importance of pre-programming the spacecraft’s tasks due to the 50-minute communication delay. Accurate orbital data is vital to avoid mission failure. The UAE’s observatory captured a series of images during transit events lasting up to seven hours, forming part of a global campaign with 18 observatories across five continents.

Al Khatim Observatory stood out as the top contributor, making 10 of the 21 observations between July 25 and October 23, 2024. The findings were published in The Minor Planet Bulletin in early 2025 under the title “617 Patroclus-Menoetius Mutual Event Lightcurves.” This achievement underscores the UAE’s role as a leader in space science and its ability to support groundbreaking international research.