NASA's Lucy enters Jupiter's leading Trojan region to study origins
Technology
NASA's Lucy spacecraft has entered Jupiter's leading Trojan asteroid region.
After a more than 2.2-billion-mile journey that started back in October 2021, Lucy is now ready to check out these ancient space objects and help scientists figure out how our solar system was formed.
Lucy to fly by 4 Trojans
Lucy will swing by four different asteroids, Eurybates, Polymele, Leucus, and Orus, between 2027 and 2028, snapping close-up pictures and gathering data as it goes.
In 2030, it will loop back to Earth for a gravity boost before heading off to explore even more Trojans.
Lucy is the first spacecraft to study the Trojan asteroids and explore this part of our solar system. The whole adventure wraps up in 2033.