NASA’s Lucy Mission to Jupiter’s Trojan Asteroids: Everything You Need to Know

Far in Jupiter’s orbit are the Trojan asteroids – fossils from the collection of rocks that spawned the giant planets over 4 billion years ago. These floating time capsules could hold the key to unlocking the origins of the planets.

In a few weeks, NASA’s Lucy mission sends a spaceship to these ancient raw materials in an ambitious and daring attempt to access the well-preserved history of our solar system.

Perfectly named for the fossil that taught us the genesis of mankind, Lucy’s 12-year journey promises to reveal a record of cosmic evolution. The spacecraft will capture close-up views of a diverse selection of Trojan asteroids to help scientists decipher how and why the planets in our solar system came into being.

At present, we know almost nothing about the properties of these primitive rocks. But we’ve put together everything we can to help you prepare for the momentous launch.

Cue “Lucy in the sky with diamonds.”

How to watch NASA launch the Lucy mission

You can watch take off, currently scheduled for October 16 at 2:34 am PT (5:34 am ET), online on NASA TV.

Be sure to come back closer to the big day for a live stream on CNET Highlights and anytime across the world.

And while you wait, let’s find out why this mission could change the world for astronomers.

What are Trojan asteroids?

Long before planets existed, the solar system was teeming with billions of rocky, icy bodies orbiting a dark sun. Some of these fragments slowly merged to form larger planets, such as Earth and Mars. But along the way a bunch of floating rocks were left behind.

Many have been taken to the infinite depths of the universe – taking their secrets with them – but a few still live in the far reaches of our solar system.

Caught between the gravitational pull of the sun and Jupiter are these primitive pieces of rock that have been around for billions of years. They are known as the Trojan asteroids of Jupiter. NASA rightly calls them “time capsules of the birth of our solar system” and they form two clusters that share an orbit with the gas giant. More than 7,000 have been detected to date.

“The elements that contributed to the growth of Jupiter and Saturn are now trapped in these places,” said Hal Levison, NASA planetary scientist and principal investigator of the Lucy mission, in the mission preview.

Where does Lucy enter?

Lucy will be the first spacecraft to jump off an asteroid among seven of the Trojan asteroids, but before heading to the head and tail swarms, it will visit a main belt asteroid located between Mars and Jupiter.

“We’re going to hit eight never-before-seen asteroids in 12 years with a single spacecraft,” Tom Statler, Project Lucy scientist at NASA headquarters in Washington, said in a statement. “This is a fantastic opportunity for discovery as we probe the distant past of our solar system.”

NASA notes that “no other space mission in history has been launched to so many different destinations in independent orbits around our sun” and that “Lucy will show us, for the first time, the diversity of primordial bodies who built the planets “.

The spacecraft will use traditional chemical propulsion technology which will make maneuvering easier, but to save fuel it will fly over points of interest instead of walking slowly. This doesn’t pose a lot of obstacles though, as Lucy can still snap photos and collect spectroscopic information while spinning.

Mission objectives

Armed with a high gain antenna for communication with Earth; high-tech cameras (color, as well as black and white); an infrared spectrometer and a thermometer, the spacecraft will verify several key characteristics of these asteroids by capturing their physical properties:

Surface geology: This includes things like shape, crater size, crustal structure, and layering.

Surface color and composition: The tones and colors of the rocks, the mineral composition and the properties of the regolith, such as the composition of the loose soil, are some of these characteristics.

Interiors and bulk properties: Masses, densities, powder blankets around craters, and other grainy details make up this section.

Satellites and rings: Some of the asteroids might have mini asteroids orbiting, as if they were the center of their own solar system. Some might even have Saturn-like rings made of super small rocks or icy bodies.

Take-off preparation

It’s not easy being a NASA probe.

Because Lucy will be relying on solar power for the mission, her panels – large enough to cover a five-story building – had to undergo intense testing to make sure they wouldn’t function properly during space flight. They are so huge because of the distance the probe will travel from the sun.

According to NASA, it will take a total of 20 minutes for these essential solar panels to expand after launch. “Those 20 minutes will determine whether the remainder of the 12-year mission is a success,” Levison said in a statement.

Martian rovers, such as Perseverance, have shorter periods of anxiety-provoking moments during their EDL phase, or sequence of entry, descent, and landing.

“Mars landers have their seven minutes of terror, we have this,” Levison remarked.

After several iterations of testing, Donya Douglas-Bradshaw, Lucy project manager at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, said in a statement that the ground execution was “flawless.”

Although space is a very different arena.

On October 16, Lucy will be transported to the Vehicle Integration Facility at Cape Canaveral Space Station and “mated” with the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. This rocket will help Lucy escape Earth’s atmosphere.

Then Lucy will move away from our home planet to begin the 12-year journey, swinging around the solar system, using Earth’s gravity as a lever three times during the journey.

“Launching a spaceship is almost like sending a kid to college – you’ve done what you can to get them ready for that next big step on their own,” Levison said.

What will happen after the mission is completed?

After a dozen years, Lucy will stabilize near Earth, then set off again on a crusade towards the asteroid belt of Troy. It will be the very first spacecraft to travel to Jupiter and return home.

Future humans will be faced with two options: retrieve Lucy as an artifact and bring her to Earth, or allow Jupiter to eventually throw her into the sun or out of the solar system.

Do not be afraid. Lucy’s job will be finished by then. And maybe our astronomy textbooks will be altered with the unprecedented information they deliver home.