Aster › Space program › 21 Lutetia
21 Lutetia
Position on the route: 18/130 · level needed 56 · journey (Mk0 engine) 9.1 h
By the numbers
| Size | ≈ 121 × 101 × 75 km |
|---|---|
| Year | 3.8 years |
| Found | 1852, Goldschmidt |
| Rosetta | 10 July 2010 |
The story
Lutetia is a large main-belt asteroid found by Hermann Goldschmidt in Paris in 1852; the name is the Latin for Paris. Rosetta passed at 3,170 km on 10 July 2010 on its way to Churyumov–Gerasimenko. The surface is covered in impact scars up to 3.6 billion years old under a thick layer of dust that smooths rocks and craters.
The density is high (≈ 3.4 g/cm³) and it carries both chondritic and iron–nickel traits: it may be a partly differentiated ‘planetary embryo’. One of the belt’s most interesting building blocks.
Missions
- Rosetta (ESA, 2010): a flyby
Colony note
Large and dense; a mining station for metal.
What probes bring back
- Rosetta passed at 3,200 km on 10 July 2010: a body about 121 km across with surfaces up to 3.6 billion years old.
- Its density is high and it shows both chondritic and iron-rich traits: it may be part of a differentiated planetary embryo.