Gravity Assist: Lucy and the Space Fossils, with Hal Levison

08/10/2021 26 min
Gravity Assist: Lucy and the Space Fossils, with Hal Levison

Listen "Gravity Assist: Lucy and the Space Fossils, with Hal Levison"

Episode Synopsis

The planets of our solar system didn’t have such stable orbits a few billion years ago. The giant outer planets moved around chaotically in their orbits, and Uranus and Neptune may have even switched places. To get a more complete understanding of the full history of our solar system, NASA is sending a spacecraft called Lucy to investigate the Trojans, mysterious small objects that share an orbit of the Sun with Jupiter. Principal investigator Hal Levison of the Southwest Research Institute’s branch in Boulder, Colorado, discusses this exciting mission, launching Oct. 16, 2021.

More episodes of the podcast Gravity Assist: NASA's Interplanetary Talk Show