Oh Dinkinesh, you are marvelous. 💫⁣ ⁣ On Nov. 1, our #LucyMission flew by the first of 10 asteroids in its planned 12-year mission. And it turns out that asteroid Dinkinesh is actually a party of two. ⁣ ⁣ This is why we explore. These images were captured while zooming by Dinkinesh at 10,000 mph (4.5 km/s) from 270 miles away (430 km) and reveal that the main belt asteroid, originally estimated to be one half-mile-wide asteroid, is made up of two asteroids of different sizes. From a preliminary analysis of these first images, the team estimates that the larger body is about 0.5 miles (790 m) at its widest, while the smaller is about 0.15 miles (220 m) in size.⁣ ⁣ Dinkinesh, meaning “you are marvelous,” is the Amharic name for Lucy, the ancient hominid discovered in Ethiopia for which our spacecraft is named. Dinkinesh truly lived up to its name.⁣ ⁣ The flyby was a test of Lucy’s terminal tracking systems, which Lucy passed with flying colors. The team will use the data from this enco...