Lucy Spacecraft’s Second Slingshot of Earth

  • Released Tuesday, December 10, 2024
View full credits

NASA’s Lucy spacecraft will make its second of three Earth gravity assists on Dec. 12, 2024.

Complete transcript available.

Watch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.

Universal Production Music: “Determined Arrival 4-5” by Joel Goodman [ASCAP]; “Floating” by Nicholas Smith [PRS]; “Subtle Confidence 3” by Joel Goodman [ASCAP]

NASA’s Lucy mission is heading to the Jupiter Trojans, two swarms of asteroids trapped in Jupiter’s orbit…but to get there, Lucy needs a little help from the Earth. On December 12, 2024, the spacecraft will make its second close flyby of Earth (following an earlier gravity assist in October 2022). As night falls on Hawaii, Lucy will streak over the darkened Pacific Ocean, coming to within about 220 miles of the planet at 11:15 pm ET. The encounter will boost Lucy’s velocity by four-and-a-half miles per second relative to the Sun, putting it on course for the L4 Trojans that travel ahead of Jupiter.

VERTICAL VIDEO – Narrated video about Lucy’s second Earth gravity assist, formatted for smartphone viewing.

Watch this video on the NASA Solar System Instagram Reels Account.

For More Information

See the following sources:

Credits

Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

This page was originally published on Tuesday, December 10, 2024.
This page was last updated on Wednesday, December 11, 2024 at 1:37 PM EST.

Missions

This page is related to the following missions:

Series

This page can be found in the following series: