Early this morning NASA launched a first-of-its-kind mission to study Jupiter’s Trojan asteroids in the outer solar system.

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Lucy heads into space

A NASA spacecraft named Lucy, named after the 1967 Beatles song “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds,” rocketed into the sky today on a 12-year mission to study Jupiter Trojan asteroids, two large clusters of space rocks that scientists believe are remnants of the primordial material that formed the solar system's outer planets.

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Lift off!

The space probe was packed inside a cargo capsule and lifted off on schedule from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida at 5:34 a.m. EDT (10:34 am BST.) It was carried by an Atlas V rocket from United Launch Alliance (AUL,) an American spacecraft launch service provider.

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Not long to go

NASA hopes to study the asteroids for carbon compounds, which may provide new insights into the origin of organic materials and life on Earth. In the past, Scientists have spotted thousands of Trojan asteroids in two swarms but never have seen them up close until 2027, when we will get the first closeup of Trojan asteroids, as Lucy makes its first of five flybys.

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