Lucy in the Sky (with Asteroids)

Lucy, a mission scheduled for launch at 4:34 a.m. CDT October 16, streaks by an asteroid in this artist's concept. It will be the first spacecraft to study Trojan asteroids, which share an orbit with Jupiter. There are two big clumps of Trojans, traveling 60 degrees ahead of and behind Jupiter. Lucy will fly past an asteroid in the asteroid belt, then reach the first clump of Trojans in 2027. It will fly past five bodies in that clump before proceeding to the other, where it will arrive in 2033. NASA will provide live coverage of the launch beginning at 4 a.m. [SwRI]