By 
August 5th, 2021
Credit: SwRI
NASA’s Lucy mission will launch in October 2021 and start an epic, 12-year journey to study seven different Trojan asteroids.
As the first-ever mission to the Trojan asteroids, NASA’s Lucy spacecraft will survey this enigmatic population of small bodies that orbit the Sun beyond the main asteroid belt – trapped by Jupiter and the Sun so that they have led and followed Jupiter in its orbit.
Diagram illustrates Lucy’s orbital path. After launch in October 2021, Lucy has two close Earth flybys before encountering its Trojan targets.
Credit: SwRI
As these never before explored asteroids are in many ways “fossils” from the formation and evolution of the planets, the Lucy spacecraft is named in honor of the fossilized human ancestor discovered the year after Pioneer 11 began its journey out of the Solar System.
Lucy’s name was inspired by the Beatles’ song “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.”
Credit: SwRI
Time-capsule plaque
Similar to four earlier spacecraft – Pioneer 10 and 11, Voyager 1 and 2 – Lucy is carrying a plaque. However, because Lucy will not be venturing outside of our Solar System, Lucy’s plaque is a time-capsule featuring messages to our descendants.
Lucy spacecraft.
Credit: Lockheed Martin
The plaque includes messages from prominent thinkers of our time and a diagram showing the positions of the planets on the date of Lucy’s launch.
Among the communiqués are sayings from musician Brian May, George Harrison, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and John Lennon, the primary author of “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.” Also on the plaque is a communication from Yoko Ono.
Lucy was designed, built and will be operated by Lockheed Martin.
Lucy’s principal investigator, Harold “Hal” Levison, from the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado.
Credit: NASA
Lucy is a Discovery class mission led by principal investigator Harold “Hal” Levison from the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) in Boulder, Colorado, who, with a team of scientists and engineers, will address key science questions about the solar system.
For a video detailing the Lucy-carried messages, go to:
Posted in Space News
