- With NASA’s “Lucy” probe, a spacecraft of Jupiter’s asteroids blasted off for the first time.
- The mission is scheduled to last for twelve years.
- “Lucy” took off on Saturday from Cape Canaveral Spaceport in Florida, USA, with the help of an Atlas 5 rocket.
NASA’s Lucy probe is expected to cover a total of 6.5 billion km. Powered by fuel and batteries that can be recharged via solar cells, the probe is supposed to fly close to seven so-called Jupiter Trojans: Eurybates, Queta, Polymele, Leucus, Orus, Patroclus and Menoetius – all named after The name of the heroes from the ancient myth “The Iliad” of Homer.
Jupiter’s Trojans are asteroids revolving around the sun in the same orbit as Jupiter – a swarm rushes in front of it, one of them follows. They are considered “planetary formation fossils,” which is why NASA hopes the mission will provide new insights into the formation of planets and our solar system.
Check his name after the Beatles song
The name of the probe is taken from the Beatles song “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds”. It is said to have spread from a cassette recorder when researchers discovered parts of a pre-human female skeleton in the Ethiopian Afar Triangle in 1974.
The discovery demonstrated for the first time that the ancestors of today’s humans could walk upright about three million years ago. The fossil – and now a NASA probe as well – was nicknamed “Lucy”.
According to NASA, the reason is simple: “Just as the ‘Lucy’ fossil has provided unique insights into human development, ‘Lucy’s mission’ promises to revolutionize our knowledge of planetary formation and the solar system.”
“Tv expert. Hardcore creator. Extreme music fan. Lifelong twitter geek. Certified travel enthusiast. Baconaholic. Pop culture nerd. Reader. Freelance student.”
More Stories
How did life begin on Earth? Munich researchers find important clues
Asparagus with Salmon and Avocado: A slightly different asparagus dish
“Dragon scales” or “tire tracks” – NASA spacecraft makes a strange discovery on Mars