NASA Lucy spacecraft has reached the region occupied by Jupiter’s Trojan asteroids, a milestone in its mission to study remnants of the early solar system.

NASA announced the development October 28, saying Lucy had traveled more than 2.2 billion miles since its October 16, 2021, launch.

The NASA Lucy mission aims to unveil the secrets of these ancient bodies and their role in solar system formation.

The close-up science is still ahead

Entering the region does not mean Lucy has already flown past its first Trojan target. That encounter, with Eurybates, is scheduled for August 11, 2027.

The asteroids share Jupiter’s orbit around the sun but are far from the planet itself. Lucy is approaching the group that travels ahead of Jupiter.

NASA says the spacecraft and its instruments continue to operate as expected despite colder temperatures and weaker sunlight. The team is refining plans for the brief encounter.

Clues to the solar system’s past

Scientists hope close-up observations will help explain how the planets formed and reached their present arrangement. Lucy will later visit additional targets and, following another Earth gravity assist, travel toward the trailing Trojan group.

Source: NASA’s October 28 mission update.

Featured image: Original explanatory graphic by Utica Phoenix, created with AI assistance. Not a photograph. Source: NASA / Southwest Research Institute.