Lucy Launches to Eight Asteroids

Why would this mission depart out as far as Jupiter — nonetheless then no longer talk over with Jupiter? Lucy’s opinion is to practice diversified leads about the muse of our Photo voltaic Machine than might perhaps well be came all via at Jupiter — the put Juno now orbits. Jupiter is this kind of giant planet that its gravity captures a large probability of asteroids that orbit the Sun earlier than it — and in the abet of. These trojan asteroids formed far and wide our Photo voltaic Machine and a few will had been trapped there for billions of years. Flying by these trojan asteroids permits studying them as fossils that likely withhold queer clues about our early Photo voltaic Machine. Lucy, named after a famed fossil skeleton which became named after a famed track, is scheduled to talk over with eight asteroids from 2025 to 2033. Pictured, Lucy’s commence became captured with reflection final week aboard a great Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida, USA.