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Lucy

NASA•
nominal

Lucy is the first spacecraft to explore the Trojan asteroids — ancient remnants of the early solar system that share Jupiter's orbit. Named after the famous fossil that reshaped understanding of human evolution, Lucy aims to similarly transform understanding of planetary origins.

Cruise PhaseTarget: Trojan Asteroids
Live Telemetry—
Distance from Earth
3.60AU
538.55M km
Distance from Sun
4.10AU
613.35M km
Velocity
14.2km/s
51,120 km/h
Mission Duration
—
Signal Journey — Earth ↔ Probe
🛸
30 minutesone-way at speed of light
Key Achievements
✦First mission to Jupiter's Trojan asteroids
✦Successfully flew by Dinkinesh asteroid (Nov 2023)
✦Discovered Dinkinesh has a contact binary satellite — Selam
✦Will visit more asteroids than any previous mission
✦Carries a message plaque to future generations
✦Will return to Earth for gravity assists twice
Science Instruments
L'Ralph — Visible/infrared spectrograph
L'LORRI — Long-range reconnaissance imager
L'TES — Thermal emission spectrometer
TTCam — Terminal tracking camera
Mission Facts
Launch Vehicle
Atlas V 401
Spacecraft Mass
1,550 kg
Power Source
Two 7.3-meter solar arrays
Mission Duration
12 years
Asteroid Targets
8 Trojan asteroids + 1 main belt
First Flyby
2025 — Dinkinesh asteroid
Other Probes
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