Lucy Mission Overview
Lucy is the first mission to explore the Trojan asteroids.
Spacecraft type
Flyby
launch
Oct. 16, 2021
TARGET
Trojan Asteroids
MISSION LENGTH
About 12 Years
What Will Lucy Do?
Lucy is the first mission to explore a group of asteroids known as the Jupiter Trojan asteroids. These asteroids are remnants of our early solar system. They are trapped in stable orbits associated with – but not close to – the giant planet Jupiter.
Trojan asteroids orbit in two “swarms” that lead and follow Jupiter around the Sun. They are thought to be comparable in number to the objects in the main asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.
Over its 12-year mission, Lucy will explore a record-breaking number of asteroids:
- Three main belt asteroids that circle the Sun between Mars and Jupiter
- Eight Trojan asteroids - five asteroids and three asteroid "moons"
Lucy is named for a fossilized skeleton of a human ancestor found in Ethiopia in 1974. The skeleton was named for the Beatles song "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds."
