En route to the trojan asteroids in Jupiter's orbit
En route to the trojan asteroids in Jupiter's orbit
NASA's Lucy asteroid mission has been travelling to Jupiter's orbit since it launched on 16 October 2021, and will arrive in August 2027. Located 60 degrees ahead and behind Jupiter in its orbit around the Sun are the trojan asteroids that are the mission's primary target. On 20 April 2025, Lucy will pass the asteroid (52246) Donaldjohanson at a distance of 960 kilometres. The asteroid is named after paleoanthropologist Donald Johanson, born in 1943 and co-discoverer of a 3.2-million-year-old hominin skeleton.
