NASA's Lucy Spacecraft Executes Second Earth Gravity Assist

The maneuver boosts Lucy's trajectory toward the Jupiter Trojan asteroids, advancing its 12-year mission to study the solar system's origins.

Lucy performed its second Earth gravity assist on December 12, 2024, passing just 220 miles above the Earth's surface to gain speed for its journey.
The maneuver increased Lucy's speed relative to the Sun by over 16,000 miles per hour, putting it on a new six-year orbit through the asteroid belt and toward the Trojan asteroids near Jupiter.
This gravity assist follows Lucy's first in 2022, which enabled its encounter with the small asteroid Dinkinesh and its satellite Selam.
Lucy’s next scheduled encounter is with the main belt asteroid Donaldjohanson on April 20, 2025, before reaching its first Trojan asteroid target in 2027.
Observers in Hawaii, western Africa, and eastern South America had limited opportunities to view the spacecraft as it passed, while NASA ensured collision avoidance with Earth-orbiting satellites and debris.