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Democracy Dies in Darkness
NASA’s Lucy in the sky with asteroids. Craft to study 8 unique bodies near Jupiter
By Erin Blakemore
October 9, 2021 at 7:30 a.m. EDT
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by Erin Blakemore
Over 400 million miles away, two groups of chunky asteroids spin around Jupiter, trapped by the planet’s orbit.
They’re known as Trojan asteroids. This month, a new probe will begin a 12-year mission to study their secrets.
The spacecraft, called Lucy, has an ambitious aim. It will be the first mission to study the Trojan asteroids, and the most complex in terms of number of destinations ever launched.