Tuesday, 12 October 2021

NASA's Lucy spacecraft poised to launch Oct. 16

NASA's Lucy spacecraft is encapsulated in a protective fairing atop an Atlas V rocket, awaiting its 23-day launch window to open on October 16. All is go for the Southwest Research Institute-led mission to begin, as the spacecraft prepares to launch on a 12-year journey of almost 4 billion miles to visit a record-breaking eight asteroids—one main belt asteroid and seven Jupiter Trojan asteroids.