The first asteroid that NASA’s Lucy spacecraft will visit has finally been named. The asteroid was discovered in 1999. However, like millions of other main belt asteroids, it has been given a number for reference only. And then only when its trajectory is precisely determined.

Originally known as 1999 VD57, the asteroid was later cataloged as 152830. A suitable name for the asteroid was only suggested when it was chosen as a target for NASA’s Lucy mission.

So now, the small asteroid in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter has been named Dinkinesh, which means “you are wonderful” in Ethiopian Amharic.

Enthusiasts may know the word because it is the alternate name for the fossilized Australopithecus afarian skeleton known as Lucy, discovered in Ethiopia in 1974.

Dinkinesh will be the Lucy probe’s first in an intense space tour. The spacecraft is expected to reach the small asteroid on November 1, 2023. Initially, Dinkinesh was not part of the spacecraft’s 12-year tour plan, where it would visit nine other asteroids. It was only added to the route in January 2023 to test the tracking system.