After five years in space and traveling more than 3.5 billion kilometers, NASA’s Lucy spacecraft has arrived near the group of Trojan asteroids located ahead of Jupiter.
These celestial bodies are the mission’s main target, as close-up observations could provide important information about the origin and formation of the Solar System.
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Trojan asteroids move in the same orbit as Jupiter around the Sun. They are arranged in two groups, one ahead of the giant planet and the other behind it. Scientists regard these objects as ancient remnants from the period when the Solar System formed, and they may help explain how the planets formed and how they reached their current positions.
Lucy is expected to make its first close encounter with one of them, Eurybates, in August 2027. Measuring about 70 kilometers in diameter, the asteroid is thought to belong to a group of more than 200 fragments formed after a major collision billions of years ago.
Since observations will last only a few hours, the science team is checking and preparing the spacecraft’s instruments and systems to gather as much information as possible. The mission is proceeding according to plan, while Lucy adjusts to the lower temperatures and weaker sunlight in this region, which is about five times farther from the Sun than Earth.
The mission schedule calls for the spacecraft to observe Polymele in September 2027, Leucus in April 2028, and Orus in November 2028, after Eurybates.
A return near Earth is planned for 2030. Lucy will use gravity assists to continue toward the other group of Trojans, the one trailing Jupiter. In March 2033, it is expected to study the asteroid pair Patrokl and Menoet.
Lucy is the first spacecraft built specifically for close-up exploration of Jupiter’s Trojan asteroids. The mission’s data could enable scientists to reconstruct the early history of the Solar System.
