Lucy Earth Gravity Assist One: Animations

Ride-along view of Lucy’s first Earth gravity assist (EGA). The camera follows Lucy as the spacecraft approaches the sunlit side of Earth before crossing into Earth’s shadow as it slingshots around the planet. This visualization compares Lucy’s EGA1 trajectory (turquoise) with all active satellites (shown in white). Top-down view of Lucy’s EGA1 trajectory with the Moon’s orbit. A view of Lucy’s EGA1 trajectory over Australia Ride-along view of Lucy’s first Earth gravity assist (EGA). The camera follows Lucy as the spacecraft approaches the sunlit side of Earth before crossing into Earth’s shadow as it slingshots around the planet. This is a slower version of the full ride along view above, focusing on the approach. Ride-along view of Lucy’s first Earth gravity assist (EGA). The camera follows Lucy as the spacecraft approaches the sunlit side of Earth before crossing into Earth’s shadow as it slingshots around the planet. This is a slower version of the full ride along view above, focusing on the closest approach. NASA’s Lucy mission is heading to the Jupiter Trojans – two swarms of primitive asteroids trapped in Jupiter’s orbit that may hold clues to the formation of the planets. Lucy launched on October 16, 2021. After a year in orbit around the Sun, it is returning home on its launch anniversary for the first of three Earth gravity assists. On October 16, 2022, Lucy will fly by the Earth like a partner in a swing dance, boosting its speed and elongating its orbit around the Sun. At 7:04 am, Eastern Time, Lucy will make its closest approach at just 219 miles above the planet: lower than the International Space Station. This exceptionally close shave will increase its velocity by four-and-a-half miles per second, setting Lucy on track to gain even more speed when it returns to Earth for a second gravity assist in December 2024. Related pages

Episode 7 - "Earth Gravity Assist"Episode 7 in the Lucy's Journey Series.Watch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.Music is "Sky High" by Lee Mason, "The Strange Lady" by David Fanshawe and John Goldstone, "Spy Kids" by Josselin Bordat, and "Millennium Theme" by Chris Elliott of Universal Production Music. Meet Lucy as she prepares for the first ever journey to the Trojan asteroids, a population of primitive small bodies orbiting in tandem with Jupiter. Related pages

Animation showing Lucy spacecraft being released, deploying it's solar arrays and starting it's journey towards the trojan asteroids. Fairing seperation from the Atlas V and Lucy spacecraft release Lucy spacecraft solar arrays deploying and main engine burn Lucy in transit Lucy Solar Arrays deployment Camera 1 Lucy Solar Arrays deployment Camera 2 Lucy Solar Array deployment Camera 3 Lucy Solar Array deployment Camera 4 These animations show the Lucy spacecraft right after stage one seperations and follow it through fairing seperation, release from the Centaur module, solar panel deployment and main engine burn. Related pages

Lucy flies by its final target, the binary asteroid Patroclus/Menoetius. When it completes this flyby, Lucy will have visited an unprecedented seven asteroids. ARTIST CONCEPT Lucy's seven targets: the binary asteroid Patroclus/Menoetius, Eurybates, Orus, Leucus, Polymele, and the main belt asteroid DonaldJohanson. Lucy spacecraft turntable animation on black background Lucy spacecraft turntable on white background Lucy opening title card One Mission title card Eight Asteroids title card Twelve years title card Donald Johanson asteroid turntable (artist concept) Eurybates asteroid turntable (artist concept) Leucus asteroid turntable (artist concept) Orus asteroid turntable (artist concept) Patroclus asteroid turntable (artist concept) Polymele asteroid turntable (artist concept) Menoetius asteroid turntable (artist concept) Beyond the asteroid belt are "fossils of planet formation" known as the Trojan asteroids. These primitive bodies share Jupiter's orbit, and may hold clues to the formation and evolution of our solar system. NASA is preparing to explore the Trojan asteroids for the first time with a mission called Lucy, which will launch in 2021 and visit seven asteroids over twelve years. Like the famous hominid fossil for which it is named, the Lucy mission will improve our understanding of the ancient past, and be the first to uncover these fossils of planet formation. For More InformationSee [NASA.gov](https://www.nasa.gov/lucy) Related pages