NASA’s Lucy Mission Approaches its First Asteroid Target
October 26 at 7pm & October 27 at 7pm
NASA’s Lucy Mission launched in October of 2021 and will be the first to Jupiter’s Trojan asteroids.
The spacecraft will fly by a record-breaking number of asteroids (ten!) for a single mission throughout its twelve-year journey. Before reaching the Trojans, the spacecraft will pass two main belt asteroids. The first of these encounters will occur November 1, 2023 when Lucy passes main belt asteroid Dinkinesh. The flyby offers the opportunity for a “dress rehearsal” of the spacecraft’s systems in preparation for the science yet to come when similar encounters with the Trojan asteroids reveal never-before-seen clues to the history and formation of our Solar System.
Join Lucy Mission scientists, for a mission update as they look forward to up-close views of asteroid Dinkinesh and exploring the Trojan asteroids beyond.
$12 Adults & $8 Student/Youth/Veteran/Military/Seniors
Regular ticket prices apply. Groupons can be used too!
Dr. Hal Levison - Lucy Mission Principal Investigator
Hal is the Principal Investigator of the Lucy Mission. He earned a BS in physics at Franklin & Marshall College and received his Ph.D. in Astronomy from the University of Michigan. He is currently a planetary scientist at Southwest Research Institute in Boulder. His research focuses on the formation and dynamical evolution of the Solar System and includes co-authoring the leading model for explaining the origin of the Trojan Asteroids. He enjoys sharing his love of science with the public and has been a featured expert for BBC, NOVA, and other television programming and print media. When he has time, he enjoys working on his vintage 1950s cars.
Dr. Simone Marchi - Lucy Mission Deputy Principal Investigator
Dr. Marchi is a Staff Scientist at Southwest Research in Boulder. His interests cover the formation and geology of the terrestrial planets, the Moon, and asteroids. He is the Deputy Principal Investigator for the NASA Lucy mission, and Co-Investigator of the NASA Psyche mission, NASA Dawn mission, and ESA BepiColombo. He is a member of the science teams of the ESA JUICE and Rosetta missions. Marchi has won awards for his studies of the impact histories of terrestrial planets and asteroids and early evolution of the Solar System, and has an asteroid named after him: Asteroid 72543 Simonemarchi.