NASA Lucy Spacecraft Set to Explore Jupiter Trojan Asteroids Soon; Can Netizens Help?

NASA Lucy Spacecraft is now ready to travel to the Trojan asteroids, where no other spacecraft has gone before.

This spacecraft is fully charged and ready to embark on a 12-year mission to investigate the swarms of asteroids that orbit the Sun and the planet that orbits it. The spacecraft will have that opportunity to transport it from Florida's coast to beyond Earth's atmosphere.

Tom Statler, Lucy Project scientist, told WTSP that the spacecraft would visit eight never-before-seen asteroids in 12 years. As we dig into the distant history of our solar system, this is a wonderful chance for discovery.

Lucy will launch from Earth on Monday, October 16. It'll take off on an Atlas V 401 rocket. The launch is set for 5:34 am EDT. NASA TV will let you see the launch live.

NASA Lucy Mission to Closely Study Trojan Asteroids

Business Insider said NASA's Lucy mission would closely study the Trojan asteroids, which will help scientists understand how our solar system's planets originated 4.5 billion years ago and how they came up in their current configuration. Scientists will use Lucy's black and white cameras to count the number of craters on asteroid surfaces, allowing them to understand more about the settings in which the asteroids lived billions of years ago.

Trojan asteroids are named after Greek gods and goddesses. These are primarily asteroids that were leftover from the solar system's creation. According to NASA, two swarms of Trojan asteroids orbit the Sun, one before Jupiter and the other following Jupiter in its orbit around the Sun. Astronauts characterized these asteroids as groupings of rock grains and alien ices that did not blend into planets during the solar system's formation. That is why scientists regard the Trojans as the most reliable source of information about the solar system's origin.

ALSO READ: NASA's Lucy Mission Going to Space Soon to Probe Jupiter's Weird Trojan Asteroids

NASA's Lucy Probe Asteroid Mission Trajectory

After launch, the probe will do many laps around Earth to harness Earth's gravity to drive itself closer to Jupiter. During Lucy's journey, the spacecraft will swing back into Earth's orbit three times to get gravity assistance to help it stay on track. Lucy will travel four billion miles in all on her journey to the asteroids. Astronomers expect the spacecraft to arrive at the Trojan asteroids in 2027, Smithsonian Mag said.

Lucy will visit seven Trojan asteroids after exploring one "main belt" asteroid between Mars and Jupiter. CNN said the probe would look for Eurybates, Queta, Polymele, Leucus, Orus, Patroclus, and Menoericus, named after Homer's The Illiad characters. According to Popular Science, Lucy will be able to see each celestial object from a distance of 600 miles.

The name of the space project is a reference to our evolutionary beginnings as humans, as these asteroids are fossil-like relics of our solar system's origins. Lucy, the skeleton of a female Australopithecus afarensis found in 1974 in Ethiopia, was the inspiration for the probe. Lucy's bones shifted scientists' perspectives on evolution, proving that our forefathers walked upright before larger brains emerged. According to CNN, both the Lucy fossil and the NASA project reference the Beatles' song "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds," why the mission's emblem is fashioned like a diamond.

NASA Wants Netizens to Be Part of Lucy Mission

According to East Mojo, NASA encourages social media users to participate in the Lucy mission's worldwide virtual NASA Social. Because NASA can't invite the public to its regular activities, they are providing a chance for individuals of all ages from all over the world to participate.

Participants at the NASA Social will have the opportunity to:

Join a virtual community of individuals who are passionate about the #LucyMission.
View unique behind-the-scenes footage from the mission.
Learn how to make your own Lucy time capsule by watching this video.
To share, get your own NASA Social badge.
Find out more about the spacecraft, the rocket that launched Lucy, and the mission's goals.

NASA opened the social event page on October 4. Anybody may participate by clicking the "Going" button.