This illustration shows the trajectory of NASA’s Lucy mission. Credit: Courtesy / Southwest Research Institute
This illustration shows the trajectory of NASA’s Lucy mission, which is led by Southwest Research Institute. The Lucy spacecraft will launch in 2021 and initially fly by the main belt asteroid DonaldJohanson, named for the paleoanthropologist who discovered the Lucy fossil. Lucy will then go on to study six diverse and scientifically important Trojans – Eurybates, Polymele, Leucus, Orus, and the binary Trojans Patroclus and Menoetius – from August 2027 to March 2033.
