Atlas V 401 | Lucy

Launch Provider & Rocket

• Provider: United Launch Alliance (Commercial)
• Rocket: Atlas V 401 — Atlas family

Mission

Lucy is the first mission to explore and study Trojan asteroids. The Trojans are a type of asteroids that orbit the Sun in two groups, in front of and behind Jupiter in its orbit around our star. Since these asteroids have been in such stable orbits for billions of years, they are of great interest as remnants of early Solar System. Lucy is a NASA mission led by NASA Goddard and Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado. Over the course of 12 years, Lucy will fly by seven different Trojan asteroids and also one main belt asteroid. The complex trajectory to visit all targets will include several Earth gravity assists.

• Type: Robotic Exploration
• Orbit: Heliocentric N/A (Helio-N/A)

Launch Site

• Pad: Space Launch Complex 41
• Location: Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA
• View on map

Program

• Discovery Program — The Discovery Program is a series of Solar System exploration missions funded by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) through its Planetary Missions Program Office. The cost of each mission is capped at a lower level than missions from NASA's New Frontiers or Flagship Programs. As a result, Discovery missions tend to be more focused on a specific scientific goal rather than serving a general purpose. (Wikipedia)