{
  "id": 16911326,
  "title": "NASA’s Lucy Reaches Trojan Asteroid Region 5 Years After Launch",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/28/nasas-lucy-reaches-trojan-asteroid-region-5-years-after-launch",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-10-28T14:11:21.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "NASA Science",
    "slug": "nasa-science",
    "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/blogs/lucy/2026/10/28/nasas-lucy-reaches-trojan-asteroid-region-5-years-after-launch/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "On Oct. 16, 2021, NASA’s Lucy launched, embarking on a mission to the Jupiter Trojan asteroids. After traveling over 2.2 billion miles, Lucy has reached Jupiter’s Lagrange point 4 (L4), a region filled with thousands of asteroids that share Jupiter’s orbit around the Sun. The L4 point, a stable location guided by the gravitational forces of the Sun and Jupiter, hosts a group of asteroids traveling ahead of the planet. Another cluster of asteroids resides in the region surrounding Lagrange point 5, trailing behind Jupiter. The Trojans, located about 484 million miles from Jupiter, are as far from the Sun as the planet itself. Scientists anticipate that studying these Trojans will shed light on the formation of the solar system’s planets approximately 4.5 billion years ago. Lucy is scheduled to encounter its first target, the asteroid Eurybates, on Aug. 11, 2027. Subsequent encounters are planned with Polymele, Leucus, and Orus. Following a final gravity assist in 2030, Lucy will explore Jupiter’s trailing group of Trojans, specifically the binary pair Patroclus and Menoetius, in 2033.",
  "summary": "Having traveled more than 2.2 billion miles since it launched on Oct. 16, 2021, NASA’s Lucy is the first spacecraft to enter a region of primitive solar-system bodies known as the Jupiter Trojan asteroids. The post NASA’s Lucy Reaches Trojan Asteroid Region 5 Years After Launch appeared first on NASA Science .",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}