NASA Lucy mission marks five years of asteroid exploration

NASA’s Lucy spacecraft has reached its five-year mission milestone as it travels toward the Trojan asteroids. Launched on October 16, 2021, the spacecraft is currently less than a year away from reaching its first Trojan asteroid target.

During its journey, Lucy has already completed flybys of the asteroids Dinkinesh and Donaldjohanson. The mission is designed to visit 11 asteroids over a 12-year period, specifically targeting the two swarms of asteroids that travel 60 degrees ahead of and behind Jupiter in its orbit. The next scheduled visit is to the Jupiter Trojan Eurybates and its satellite Queta in August 2027.