NASA’s Lucy mission, the 13th in NASA’s Discovery Program, is set to explore the ancient asteroids in the solar system’s main asteroid belt. The spacecraft, built and operated by Lockheed Martin Space in Littleton, Colorado, is being managed by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, with overall mission management, systems engineering, and safety and mission assurance.
The principal investigator for the mission is based out of the Boulder, Colorado, branch of Southwest Research Institute, with NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, managing the Discovery Program for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington.
Lucy is expected to provide crucial insight into the early history of the solar system by studying the Trojan asteroids, which are remnants of the building blocks that formed the outer planets. The mission is named after the 3.2 million-year-old hominin fossil discovered in Ethiopia, symbolizing the mission’s goal to uncover ancient secrets of our cosmic origins.
With such an ambitious goal, the collaborative effort between various organizations and institutions across the country underscores the significance of Lucy’s mission and the importance of understanding our place in the universe. As the spacecraft embarks on its journey to uncover the mysteries of the solar system, scientists and space enthusiasts eagerly await the groundbreaking discoveries that await.