New York, Oct. 16 (BUS): NASA’s Lucy probe set off on Saturday on a mission to investigate Jupiter’s asteroids.
Lucy launched with the help of an Atlas 5 rocket from Cape Canaveral in Florida, beginning a 12-year mission that will take her into space about 6.5 billion kilometers.
Powered by fuel and batteries that can be recharged via solar panels, the probe, which is more than 14 meters long, is scheduled to fly close to seven of the so-called Jupiter Trojans.
Trojans are asteroids that orbit the Sun on the same path as Jupiter – a swarm rushes in front of it, one of them follows behind. They are considered “the remnants of the primordial material that formed the exoplanets,” which is why NASA hopes the mission will provide new insights into the formation of planets and our solar system.
NS