Success October 16, 2021 • 5:34 AM UTC

Atlas V 401 | Lucy

Atlas V 401 • Atlas

Launch ID
7e2d0fe7-6156-442d-be4e-cbac85f259e5
Rocket
Atlas V 401
Type
Atlas
Coordinates
28.583°, -80.583°
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ℹ️ Official Details

Lucy is the first mission to explore and study Trojan asteroids. The Trojans are a type of asteroids that orbit the Sun in two groups, in front of and behind Jupiter in its orbit around our star. Since these asteroids have been in such stable orbits for billions of years, they are of great interest as remnants of early Solar System.
Lucy is a NASA mission led by NASA Goddard and Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado. Over the course of 12 years, Lucy will fly by seven different Trojan asteroids and also one main belt asteroid. The complex trajectory to visit all targets will include several Earth gravity assists.