Nasa launches Lucy mission to explore asteroids around Jupiter

Nasa’s Lucy mission to Jupiter’s Trojan asteroids took off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on Saturday (16 October), as it seeks to explore a swarm of asteroids that orbit the Sun near the gas giant Jupiter.

Nasa hopes that by exploring eight of the Trojan asteroids over a period of 12 years, it will gain greater insights into how the universe was formed.

The Atlas V 401 rocket that powers the Lucy mission is a joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin.

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