With the Lucy spacecraft aboard, a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket is seen as it is rolled out of the Vertical Integration Facility.
With the Lucy spacecraft aboard, a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket is seen as it is rolled out of the Vertical Integration Facility to the launch pad at Space Launch Complex 41, Thursday, Oct. 14, 2021, at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Lucy will be the first spacecraft to study Jupiter’s Trojan asteroids. Like the mission’s namesake – the fossilized human ancestor, “Lucy,” whose skeleton provided unique insight into humanity’s evolution – Lucy will revolutionize our knowledge of planetary origins and the formation of the solar system.
The Lucy mission is slated to launch on Saturday, Oct. 16, 2021, at 5:43 a.m. EDT. Launch coverage begins on NASA TV at 5 a.m.
Image Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls