>> GOOD AFTERNOON.
WITH LESS THAN THREE WEEKS TO
GO, NASA'S LUCY'S MISSION TEAM
IS MAKING FINAL PREPARATIONS FOR
THE SPACECRAFT'S OCTOBER 16
LAUNCH, EMBARKING ON A 12 YEAR
MISSION TO STUDY JUPITER'S
TROJAN ASTEROIDS.
I'M YOUR HOST, ALANNA JOHNSON IN
WASHINGTON D.C.
LINKED IN FROM SEVERAL LOCATIONS
ACROSS THE COUNTRY THROUGH A
VIRTUAL PLATFORM, I'M JOINED BY
A PANEL OF EXPERTS TO GIVE YOU A
BRAD OVERVIEW OF THE LUCY
MISSION.
LORI GLAZE, DIRECTOR OF NASA'S
PLANETARY SCIENCE DIVISION AT
NASA HEADQUARTERS IN WASHINGTON,
HAL LEVISON, KEITH NOLL, LUCY
PROJECT SCIENTIST, RICH LIPE,
LOCKHEED MARTIN SPACECRAFT
MANAGER, AND DONYA
DOUGLAS-BRADSHAW, LUCY'S PROJECT
MANAGER.
AFTER A BRIEF OPENING REMARKS
FROM EACH PANEL MEMBER, WE'LL
TAKE QUESTIONS ON-LINE AND FROM
MEMBERS OF THE MEDIA.
IF YOU ARE A MEMBER OF THE MEDIA
ON OUR TELECOM LINES, PRESS STAR
1 TO BE PUT INTO THE CUE AT ANY
TIME.
THOSE WATCHING US ON-LINE CAN
ASK QUESTIONS USE CAN THE
#ASKNASA.
NOW, TO KICK OFF THE DISCUSSION,
I WILL TURN IT OVER TO LORI
GLAZE.
>> THANK YOU SO MUCH, ALANNA.
I AM SO EXCITED TO BE HERE TODAY
AS WE REALLY BEGIN TO CLOSE IN
ON THE LAUNCH OF THE LUCY
MISSION THAT WILL BE THE FIRST
EVER MISSION TO VISIT THE GROUP
OF ASTEROIDS CALLED TROJANS THAT
ARE LEADING AND TRAILING JUPITER
IN ITS ORBIT AROUND THE SUN.
SOME OF THE MOST IMPORTANT
PLANETARY SCIENCE QUESTIONS WE
ARE TRYING TO ANSWER ARE FOCUSED
ON THE ORIGIN AND EVOLUTION OF
THE SOLAR SYSTEM.
ASTEROIDS AND OTHER SMALL BODIES
ARE REALLY IMPORTANT KEYS TO
UNDERSTANDING THAT HISTORY.
AMAZINGLY, MANY OF THESE
MISTEAROUS WORLDS HAVE BEEN
ALTERED VERY LITTLE IN THE
4.6 BILLION YEARS SINCE THEY
FIRST FORMED.
THEY ARE RELATIVELY PRISTINE
STATE MAKES COMETS, ASTEROIDS
WONDERFUL STORYTELLERS THAT
PRESERVED CLUES ABOUT THE EARLY
SOLAR SYSTEM.
BY STUDYING THE TROJAN ASTEROIDS
WE CAN GAIN MORE HISTORY INTO
THE OUTER SOLAR SYSTEM.
WE FIND ASTEROIDS ACROSS THE
SOLAR SYSTEM, INCLUDING
NEAR-EARTH ASTEROIDS THAT BRING
THEM CLOSE TO EARTH, MAIN BELT
ASTEROIDS THAT ORBIT THE SUN AND
KYPER BELT.
NOT ALL OF THESE ASTEROIDS ARE
THE SAME.
AND LUCY IS PART OF A COLLECTION
OF AMBITIOUS MISSIONS TO STUDY
THE DIVERSITY OF THESE ASTEROIDS
POPULATIONS THAT WILL HELP US
FILL IN MORE PIECES OF THAT
COSMIC PUZZLE.
IF I CAN GET THE SECOND GRAPHIC.
IN ADDITION TO THE LUCY MISSION,
WE ARE CURRENTLY OPERATING OR
DEVELOPING SEVERAL OTHER
MISSIONS TO EXPLORE THESE SMALL
BODIES THROUGHOUT THE SOLAR
SYSTEM.
NEW HORIZONS WHICH IS SHOWN IN
THE LOWER PANEL ON THE LEFT
CONTINUES TO INVESTIGATE THE
KYPER BELT AND AN OBJECT IN
2019.
WE ARE ALSO BRINGING SAMPLES OF
NEAR EARTH ASTEROIDS BACK TO
EARTH SO WE CAN USE OUR FULL
LABORATORY CAPABILITIES TO
UNDERSTAND THE ROLE OF ASTEROIDS
IN DELIVERING WATER AND ORGANIC
MOLECULES TO EARTH.
IN THE CENTER OF THE BOTTOM ROW
YOU CAN SEE THE OSIRIS REX
SPACECRAFT.
IT BEGAN ITS JOURNEY BACK TO
EARTH EARLIER THIS YEAR AND WILL
ARRIVE BACK IN 2023.
IN CONCERT WITH OSIRIS-REx, WE
ARE WORKING WITH THE JAPANESE
SPACE AGENCY AND WILL EXCHANGE
SAMPLES IN RETURN FOR SAMPLES.
THE MISSION LAUNCHES NEXT YEAR
AND WILL EXPLORE THE UNIQUE
ASTEROID CALLED PSYCHE 16.
IN CONTRAST TO OTHER ICY BODIES,
SCIENTISTS BELIEVE IT CONTAINS
NICKEL.
WE ARE CURRENTLY DEVELOPING THE
LATEST ASTEROID BOUND MISSION
CALLED JANICE.
IT WILL STUDY TWO BINARY
ASTEROID SYSTEMS.
THEY COMPOSE A THREAT TO EARTH.
NASA'S VERY FIRST PLANETARY
DEFENSE MISSION, DART, SHOWN IN
THE MIDDLE PANEL IS GOING TO
LAUNCH A MONTH AFTER LUCY IN
NOVEMBER AND AIMS TO TEST
PLANETARY DEFENSES.
IT WILL BE THE FIRST
DEMONSTRATION OF WHAT WE CALL
THE CONETIC TECHNIQUE.
IT WILL LEARN MORE TO HELP US
BETTER PREPARE AND MITIGATE ANY
DANGERS POSED TO EARTH.
ALL OF THESE ARE INCREDIBLY
INTERESTING DESTINATIONS.
IN EACH CASE WE ARE EXPLORING
PLACES NO SPACE HAS BEEN.
WE KNOW THAT WHATEVER LUCY FINDS
WILL GIVE US CLUES WITH THE
FORMATION OF OUR SOLAR SYSTEM.
NOW, I WOULD LIKE TO HANDLE IT
OVER TO HAL TO TELL YOU MORE
ABOUT THE LUCY SCIENCE.
>> THANK YOU, LORI.
I'M SURE YOU WOULD AGREE THAT
LUCY IS THE CAUSE
[INDISCERNIBLE].
I'M FROM THE SOUTHWEST RESEARCH
INSTITUTE IN BOULDER.
I'M THE LUCY PI.
LUCY IS VISITING THE TROJAN
ASTEROIDS OF JUPITER WHICH LEAD
OR FOLLOW THE PLANET BY ROUGHLY
60° IN ITS ORBIT.
THEY ARE STABLE FOR LONG PERIODS
OF TIME DUE TO THE FACT THAT THE
GRAVITATIONAL TRACTION OF THE
SUN AND PLANETS KEPT IT OUT
THERE.
SO THE OBJECTS THAT WE SEE ARE
PRIMITIVE.
PROBABLY PLACED IN CURRENT
ORBITS BY THE FINAL BLAST OF THE
PLANET PROCESS.
ONE OF THE INTERESTING THINGS
ABOUT THESE OBJECTS, HOWEVER, IS
DESPITE THE FACT THAT THEY
ACTUALLY OCCUPY A SMALL REGION
OF SPACE.
IF WE CAN SHOW MY FIRST GRAPHIC.
YOU WILL SEE DESPITE THE FACT
THAT THEY REALLY ARE IN A SMALL
REGION OF SPACE, THEY ARE
PHYSICALLY DIFFERENT FROM ONE
ANOTHER, WE'LL SEE, FOR EXAMPLE,
THEY HAVE VERY DIFFERENT COLORS,
SOME GRAY, SOME RED, FOR
EXAMPLE.
THIS, I THINK, IS TELLING US
SOMETHING FUNDAMENTAL ABOUT THE
FORMATION OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM,
FOR EXAMPLE, IF YOU GO TO MY
NECKS GRAPHIC, THERE ARE THESE
IDEAS FLOATING AROUND THAT THE
OBJECTS WE SEE IN THE TROJANS
TODAY FORMED BEYOND THE ORBITS
OF THE GIANT PLANETS AND GOT
EMBEDDED IN THEIR CURRENT ORBITS
NEAR THE ORBIT OF JUPITER AS THE
GIANT PLANETS MOVED AROUND.
YOU CAN IMAGINE THAT THE COLOR
INDICATES WHERE THEY FORMED.
MAYBE THE GRAY GUYS FORMED CLOSE
TO THE SUN AND RED OBJECTS FAR
AWAY AND WERE MIXED DURING THE
CAPTURE PROCESS.
THESE OBJECTS DO REPRESENT
OBJECTS THAT FORMED THROUGHOUT
THE OUTER SOLAR SYSTEM AND ARE
NOW IN THE TROJAN SWARMS WHERE A
MISSION LIKE LUCY CAN GO AND
STUDY IT.
IN ORDER TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THEY
ARE TELLING US ABOUT THE HISTORY
OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM, WE HAVE TO
UNDERSTAND THE DIVERSITY AND
STUDY THE DIVERSITY.
AND THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT LUCY IS
GOING TO DO.
SO, IN SHORT, LUCY IS GOING TO
LAUNCH IN A COUPLE OF WEEKS, OUR
LAUNCH PERIOD OPENS OCTOBER 16,
IT GOES FOR 21 DAYS.
WE ARE GOING TO PASS THE
GREENBELT ASTEROID ON THE WAY
OUT TO THE TROJANS.
THAT HAPPENS IN 2025.
THEN WE'LL HAVE FIVE TROJAN
ENCOUNTERS BETWEEN 2027 AND 2033
FOR A TOTAL OF SEVEN OBJECTS
BECAUSE ONE OF OUR OBJECTS HAS
BEEN DISCOVERED TO HAVE A
SATELLITE BY THE HUBBLE SPACE
SATELLITE.
AND THE OTHER ONE IS MY FAVORITE
IS A BINARY OBJECT, TWO OBJECTS
ROUGHLY THE SAME SIZE FROM
CIRCULAR OWE BIT FROM ONE
ANOTHER.
IN ORDER TO COVER THIS
DIVERSITY, WE ARE GOING TO KNOW
A LOT OF TARGETS.
ONE OF THE RECORDS IT'S GOING TO
BREAK IN ITS TRAVELS IS WE ARE
VISITING MORE ASTEROIDS THAN ANY
OTHER SPACECRAFT IN HISTORY.
IT'S ALSO A 12 YEAR MISSION
WHICH IS A LONG PERIOD OF TIME,
I'M 75.
WHEN ALL THIS IS SAID AND DONE.
YOUNG PEOPLE, MAYBE IN
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL OR MIDDLE
SCHOOL, WILL BE WORKING ON LUCY
BY THE TIME WE GET TO THE END OF
THE MISSION.
COVERING THIS DIVERSITY IS KEY
AND FINDING THE TRAJECTORY THAT
WILL ALLOW US TO VISIT ALL THESE
TYPES OF OBJECTS HAS BEEN A
CHORE FOR LUCY.
IN THE NEXT GRAPHIC, I'M GOING
TO SHOW YOU THIS TRAJECTORY
WHICH WILL ALLOW US TO DO THIS.
WE LAUNCH IN OCTOBER AND WE
RATTLE AROUND THE INNER SOLAR
SYSTEM FOR A WHILE USING EARTH'S
GRAVITY TO SLOWLY PUMP UP THE
ORBIT OF THE SPACECRAFT SO IT
EVENTUALLY INTERSECTS THE ORBIT
OF JUPITER.
ON THE WAY OUT WE PASS BY THIS
MAIN BELT ASTEROID WHICH WE
NAMED FOR DONALD JOHANSSON,
THESE OBJECTS ARE THE FOSSILS OF
PLANET FORMATION.
WE NAMED THE LUCY MISSION FROM
THE LUCY FOSSIL THAT WAS
DISCOVERED IN THE MID '70s BY
DONALD JOHANSSON.
GO OUT INTO THE LEADING SWARM
AND WE'LL HAVE FOUR ENCOUNTERS
THERE.
THEN WE COME BACK TO THE INNER
PART OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM, HAVE
ANOTHER EARTH GRAVITY ASSIST
WHICH ALLOWS US TO TARGET OUR
FINAL TROJAN.
WE DO COVER A LOT OF TERRITORY
AND GET THE FULL DIVERSITY THAT
WE NEED, THERE ARE A COUPLE OF
OBJECTS IN THIS POPULATION THAT
DESERVE TO HAVE SPACECRAFTS SENT
TO THEM.
EVEN IF THAT WAS THE ONLY TARGET
FOR THE SPACECRAFT.
THE FIRST IS THE FIRST TROJAN WE
ENCOUNTER WITH ITS SMALL
SATELLITE.
IT WAS INVOLVED IN A MAJOR
COLLISION MANY, MANY EONS AGO.
REMEMBER, THAT PLANETS FORM BY
GROWING, BY EATING EACH OTHER
THROUGH COLLISIONS.
SO IT IS GOING TO GIVE US A
UNIQUE INSIGHT INTO THAT
COLLISION PROCESS.
AND THE FINAL OBJECT I SAID
BEFORE, MY FAVORITE, NEAR EQUAL
MASS BINARY, AND IT IS PROBABLY
THE MOST PRISTINE OBJECT THAT WE
ARE STUDYING, COULD BE LEFT OVER
FROM THE INITIAL POPULATION OF
ASTEROIDS IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM.
LET ME FINISH BY SAYING THAT I
ALREADY TOLD YOU THAT WE ARE
BEATING ONE RECORD BY VISITING
SO MANY ASTEROIDS.
WE ARE ALSO GOING TO SEE
ANOTHER, WE ARE GOING FURTHER
FROM THE SUN THAN ANY OTHER
SOLAR SPACE POWERED CRAFT IN
HISTORY.
I WILL HAND IT OVER TO KEITH
NOLL WHO WILL TELL US MORE ABOUT
THE SCIENCE WE ARE GOING TO DO.
>> THANKS, HAL.
I WANT TO EMPHASIZE THAT LUCY IS
A FLY-BY MISSION.
AFTER SPENDING YEARS TRAVELING
MORE THAN A BILLION MILES TO GET
TO OUR TARGETS WE AIM ALMOST
DIRECTLY AT THEM FLYING WITHIN
600 MILES OF THEIR SURFACES.
LUCY DOESN'T SLOW DOWN FOR THESE
FLY-BYS.
IT'S MOVING BETWEEN 3 AND
5 MILES PER SECOND RELATIVE TO
THE TROJAN ASTEROIDS, SO THE
ENCOUNTER IS QUICKLY.
WITH THE BEST DATA BEING
COLLECTED IN A FEW HOURS NEAR
THE CLOSEST APPROACH.
TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS, LUCY
TEAM WAS VERY CAREFUL TO SELECT
A PROVEN SET OF INSTRUMENTS TO
ACHIEVE ALL OF OUR SCIENCE
OBJECTIVES DURING THESE
FLY-BYES.
LUCY WANTS TO INVESTIGATE THE
GEOLOGY OF THE TARGETS, WE WOULD
LIKE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE
COMPOSITION AND HOW IT'S SPREAD
AROUND ON THE SURFACES.
WE WANT TO KNOW ABOUT THE BULK
PROPERTIES, MASS, DENSITY,
VOLUME OF THESE OBJECTS AND WE
WANT TO CARRY OUT A SEARCH FOR
SATELLITES AND EVEN POSSIBLY
RINGS THAT ARE TOO CLOSE IN TO
BE OBSERVED WITH ANY EARTH BASED
TELESCOPE INCLUDING HUBBLE.
THERE ARE THREE SCIENCE
INSTRUMENTS ON LUCY.
THEY BEGIN WITH L, THEY ARE
VERSIONS OF INSTRUMENTS THAT
HAVE FLOWN BEFORE WITH UPDATES
SPECIFIC TO THE LUCY MISSION.
LET ME START BY TELLING YOU
ABOUT L-RALPH.
IT'S TWO INSTRUMENTS IN ONE.
THERE'S AN INSTRUMENT CALLED
M-VIC THAT OPERATES A VISIBLE
WAVE LENGTH AND WE HAVE ONE
CALLED LISA.
THEY SHARE THE COMMON PURPOSE OF
TRYING TO UNDERSTAND THE
COMPOSITION OF OUR TARGETS.
M-VIC IS ESSENTIALLY A COLOR
CAMERA THAT HAS FIVE ESPECIALLY
COLORED FILTERS AND ONE CLEAR
FILTER THAT WILL GET IMAGES OF
THE TARGETS.
THE TROJANS DON'T HAVE A STRONG
FEATURE AS VISIBLE WAVE LENGTHS,
BUT THEY HAVE THESE COLOR
VARIATIONS THAT HAL MENTIONED.
GETTING CLOSE UP AND SEE HOW
COLOR VARIES ON THE SURFACE OR
DOESN'T WILL TELL US A LOT ABOUT
THE HISTORIES OF THESE OBJECTS.
WE HAVE LISA, WHICH INSTEAD OF
FIVE COLOR FILTERS WILL GET
HUNDREDS OF VERY NARROW INFRARED
IMAGES SPACED THROUGH THE NEAR
AND FAR PART OF THE SPECTRUM.
WE EXPECT THE TARGETS WILL GIVE
UP A LITTLE BIT MORE INFORMATION
ABOUT THEIR SURFACES.
WE CAN EXPECT TO LOOK FOR THINGS
LIKE WATER ABSORBED INTO
MINERALS, ORGANIC MOLECULES,
POSSIBLY OTHER COMPONENTS AND TO
DO THAT UP CLOSE AND SEE WHERE
THESE DIFFERENT COMPOSITIONAL
ELEMENTS ARE CONCENTRATED IS
ALSO GOING TO BE REALLY CRITICAL
TO UNDERSTANDING THE FORMATION
AND EVOLUTION OF THESE OBJECTS.
THE NEXT I WANT TO TALK ABOUT IS
LORI.
LORI IS OUR VERY SENSITIVE HIGH
RESOLUTION CAMERA.
YOU CAN THINK OF IT AS A CAMERA
WITH A POWERFUL ZOOM LENS ON IT.
IT'S FIRST JOB IS TO HELP THE
NAVIGATION TEAM GET IT TO THE
RIGHT [INDISCERNIBLE].
AND THEN CLOSER IN ITS GOING TO
BE COLLECTING IMAGES THAT WILL
GIVE US DETAILS ABOUT THE
SURFACE, THEN SURFACE FEATURES
DOWN TO JUST TENS OF YARDS
ACROSS.
A FRACTION OF A FOOTBALL FIELD.
THE SMALLEST CRATERS THAT LORI
WILL BE ABLE TO SEE ARE MORE
THAN A HUNDRED TIMES SMALLER
THAN THE LARGEST ONES WE EXPECT
TO FIND.
AND BEING ABLE TO LOOK AT
CRATERS OVER A HUGE RANGE OF
SIZES TELLS US ABOUT THE OBJECTS
WE ARE STUDYING, BUT ABOUT ALL
OF THE TROJANS THAT ARE THE
IMPACTERS ON THESE SURFACES.
LORI IS ALSO THE INSTRUMENT
THAT'S GOING TO CARRY OUT A
SENSITIVE SEARCH FOR SATELLITES
AND RINGS.
THE THIRD INSTRUMENT I WANT TO
DESCRIBE IS IT L-TEST.
IT WORKS IN THE SAME WAY THAT A
DIGITAL THERMOMETER WORKS.
IT ALLOWS US TO DETECT
INFORMATION TO GET THE
TEMPERATURE AND THE PODCAST
SHADOWED PORTIONS OF THE TARGETS
AND SIGNIFICANTS SETTLEMENT
POURINGS OF THE TARGETS.
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THOSE TWO
REGIONS TELLS SOMETHING
IMPORTANT ABOUT DENSE OR FLUFFY
THE MATERIAL IS.
THAT DEPENDS ON THE LONG-TERM
HISTORY OF THESE OBJECTS.
IN ADDITION TO OUR THREE SCIENCE
INSTRUMENTS, LUCY HAS TWO
SPACECRAFT SYSTEMS THAT WE'LL
USE TO GET SCIENTIFIC DATA.
OUR TERMINAL TRACKING CAMERAS
ALLOW US TO POINT ACCURATELY AT
THE TARGETS AS WE FLYBY.
BUT THEY ALSO ACT AS A WIDE VIEW
CAMERA.
IN CONJUNCTION WITH LORI'S
DETAILED IMAGES, THAT'S GOING TO
PROVIDE GEOLOGICAL CONTEXT AS WE
FLYBY AND GET SOME OF THE BEST
LIGHTING CONDITION.
ALSO, ON THE SIDE OF THE
SPACECRAFT, YOU CAN SEE WE HAVE
A LARGE ANTENNA, THAT'S OUR HIGH
GAIN AN TEN THAT, THAT ALLOWS US
TO COMMUNICATE WITH LUCY FROM
THE EARTH.
BY TRACKING THE FREQUENCY OF
THAT LINK VERY CAREFULLY, WE CAN
MEASURE SMALL CHANGES IN
VELOCITY THAT ALLOW US TO WEIGH
THE ASTEROIDS AND DETERMINE
THEIR MASS.
THAT'S A UNIQUE MEASUREMENT WE
CAN MAKE WITH THE ANTENNA.
LUCY HAS A POWERFUL COMBINATION
OF INSTRUMENTS THAT ALLOW US TO
MEET OUR GOALS.
NEXT, I WANT TO PASS THIS OVER
TO RICH LIPE.
>> THANKS, KEITH.
I APPRECIATE IT.
I'M RICH LIPE.
I'M THE LOCKHEED MARTIN
SPACECRAFT MANAGER.
I'M HERE TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT
HOW WE GOT TO THIS POINT WITH
THE SPACECRAFT.
THIS IS A 12 YEAR MISSION.
WE ARE GOING TO VISIT EIGHT
ASTEROIDS, WE HAVE TO DO THAT
WITH ONE SPACECRAFT.
IT WAS BUILT HERE AT LOCKHEED
MARTIN.
IT WAS BUILT OVER A 14 MONTH
PERIOD DURING A GLOBAL PANDEMIC
WHICH, BELIEVE ME, WAS REALLY
DIFFICULT.
WE HAD TO IMPLEMENT SOME VERY
CREATIVE SOLUTIONS TO STAY ON
TRACK FOR OUR LAUNCH READINESS
DATE.
WE DID THAT BY SPLITTING THE
TEAMS UP INTO A, B TEAMS SO THEY
WOULD NEVER INTERACT WITH ONE
ANOTHER IN CASE SOMEONE GOT
SICK, SO WE WOULDN'T TAKE DOWN
THE ENTIRE TEAM.
WE COULD STAY ON TRACK BUILDING
THIS AMAZING SPACECRAFT.
IT TOOK INCREDIBLE TEAM
COOPERATION AND FLEXIBILITY.
I CAN'T THANK THE LUCY TEAM
ENOUGH FOR THEIR DILIGENCE
DURING THIS TIME FRAME.
I ALSO WANT TO TAKE A QUICK
SECOND TO THANK LOCKHEED MARTIN.
THEY REALLY ENSURED THAT THE
WORK FORCE WAS HEALTHY AND SAFE.
THEY GAVE US EVERYTHING WE
NEEDED.
AND THEY DID A REALLY GREAT
JOSH.
I REALLY APPRECIATE LOCKHEED
MARTIN'S CONTRIBUTIONS DURING
THIS TIME, A VERY DIFFICULT
TIMES.
LET'S GO INTO THE CONSTRUCTION
OF THE SPACECRAFT.
THE SPACECRAFT WAS BUILT AT
LITTLETON, COLORADO FACILITY.
IT CAME TOGETHER WITH 500
ENGINEERS, MISSION SPECIALISTS
AND SCIENTISTS WHO PUT TOGETHER
430 COMPONENTS.
WE STARTED OUT WITH THE BARE
STRUCTURE, 170 FEET OF COMPOSITE
STRUCTURE.
WE INSTALLED THE PROPULSION
SYSTEM, WE INSTALLED MULTIPLE
ELECTRONIC BOXES ON TO THAT
STRUCTURE.
WE INSTALLED THE INSTRUMENTS AS
THEY CAME IN FROM OUR INSTRUMENT
PROVIDERS.
WE INSTALLED OVER TWO MILES OF
WIRE FOR THIS VEHICLE.
THERE IS A LOT OF WIRE ON THIS
VEHICLE, CONNECTS ALL THE BOXES
TOGETHER.
WE INSTALLED THE SOLAR RAYS.
I HAVE SAID THIS BEFORE AND THIS
IS AMAZING DESIGN SPACECRAFT,
BUT IT'S ALSO A REALLY PIECE OF
WORK.
IT'S AN ARTWORK.
IT'S REALLY -- TAKES A LOT OF
INSPIRATION FROM EACH AND EVERY
ENGINEER, TEAM MEMBER,
SCIENTIST, TO COME UP WITH THIS
DESIGN AND MEET ALL OF OUR
REQUIREMENTS AND WE PULL FROM
PREVIOUS DEEP SPACE MISSIONS,
LOCKHEED MARTIN HAS A HERITAGE
FROM DEEP SPACE, WE PULL FROM
PREVIOUS DESIGNS TO BRING THIS
SPACECRAFT TOGETHER.
ONCE THE SPACECRAFT IS
ASSEMBLED, WE GOT THE BOXES,
EVERYTHING IS READY TO GO.
THE LOCKHEED MARTIN TEAM TESTS
THIS SPACECRAFT TO MAKE SURE
IT'S PREPARED FOR ITS RECORD
BREAKING SPACE JOURNEY.
WE DO ENVIRONMENTAL TESTING
WHERE WE DO SHOCK TESTING.
WE DO VIBRATION TESTING.
WE DO ELECTROMAGNETIC
INTERFERENCE TESTING TO MAKE
SURE THE SPACECRAFT DOES NOT
INTERFERE WITH ITSELF WHILE WE
TRANSMIT THE VERY PRECIOUS DATA
WE ARE GOING TO CAPTURE BACK AND
FORTH BETWEEN THE SPACECRAFT AND
EARTH.
THAT'S VERY IMPORTANT.
WE ALSO DO A VERY LARGE TEST
WHICH IS A THERMAL VACUUM TEST
WHERE WE TAKE IT EXTREMELY COLD
AND HOT TO MAKE SURE THAT THE
SPACECRAFT CAN SURVIVE THOSE
VERY DIFFICULT SPACE
ENVIRONMENTS.
AND PART OF IT IS SINCE THE
SPACECRAFT IS GOING SO FAR AWAY
FROM THE SUN, WE REALLY HAD TO
DO A FEW THINGS DIFFERENT AND
NEW THIS TIME.
ONE OF THE MOST STRIKING
FEATURES ON THIS VEHICLE, AS YOU
CAN SEE, ARE THE SOLAR PANELS.
THEY WERE BUILT BY NORTHROP
GRUMMAN.
THEY WILL ALLOW LUCY TO OPERATE
FARTHER FROM THE SUN THAN ANY
PREVIOUS SOLAR POWERED
SPACECRAFT TO DATE.
THEY GENERATE 500 WATTS OF POWER
AT THE TROJANS.
THAT'S ABOUT EIGHT AND A HALF
TIMES A NORMAL HOUSEHOLD LIGHT
BULB.
WE USE THAT POWER EFFICIENTLY TO
COLLECT THE SCIENCE DATA FOR HAL
AND THE SCIENCE TEAM SO WE CAN
DISCOVER WHAT'S GOING -- HOW THE
UNIVERSE WAS DEVELOPED OUT THERE
IN THE OUTER UNIVERSE.
IT'S VERY IMPORTANT.
ONE THINGS THAT MAKES THE SOLAR
RAYS UNIQUE IS THEY ARE TWICE AS
STIFF AND HAVE THE MASS OF A
TYPICAL SOLAR RAY THAT WE WOULD
BUILD CLOSER TO EARTH IN THE GEO
OR LEO SATELLITE.
IT KEEPS THE VEHICLE STABLE SO
WE CAN POINT AT OUR OBJECT
ACCURATELY AND MASS IS ALWAYS
VERY IMPORTANT WITH ANY DEEP
SPACE OR ANY SATELLITE FOR SURE.
SO HAVING HALF THE MASS HAS
ENABLED THIS SOLAR RAY AND THE
STIFFNESS AS WELL.
THE SOLAR RAYS ARE REALLY
MASSIVE.
50 FEET ACROSS.
WHEN YOU STAND THEM ON END, IF
WE PUT THEM ON END, IT WOULD BE
AS TALL AS A FIVE STORY
BUILDING.
REALLY VERY IMPRESSIVE SOLAR
RAYS AND MAKES THE LUCY VEHICLE
STAND OUT.
ONCE WE ARE DONE WITH TESTING
AND PUTTING THE VEHICLE
TOGETHER, WE HAVE TO SHIP IT OUT
TO THE LAUNCH SITE.
THAT MEANS WE TAKE IT TO -- WE
SHIP IT FROM COLORADO TO FLORIDA
OUT HERE AT KSC.
AS YOU CAN SEE FROM THE VIDEO,
SHIPPING IS A COMPLEX PROCESS.
WE HAVE TO GET EVERY PART OF IT
RIGHT, IT'S VERY COMPLICATED ON
ANY SPACECRAFT DESIGN.
IT'S IMPORTANT TO GET IT RIGHT.
THE VEHICLE IS ENCASED IN ITS
OWN MINI CLEAN ROOM, SHIPPING
CONTAINER THAT IS
ENVIRONMENTALLY CONTROLLED AND
PURGED FOR THE RIDE OUT ON THE
C-17 WHICH WE TAKE A RIDE OUT ON
THE C-17 AND FLY IT OFF TO
FLORIDA.
I GOT TO BE ON THE AIRPLANE WITH
THE SPACECRAFT WHICH WAS REALLY
COOL ALONG WITH THE OTHER
TEAMMATES, THAT WAS INTERESTING.
AND THEN WE MOVED ABOUT 30
PEOPLE DOWN HERE TO FLORIDA TO
DO LAUNCH PREPARATIONS ON THE
VEHICLE.
SO THAT'S THE NEXT PIECE OF THIS
AND I'M GOING TO HAND IT OVER TO
DONYA DOUGLAS-BRADSHAW WHO IS
THE PROJECT MANAGER FOR THIS
SPACE MISSION.
DONYA, OVER TO YOU.
>> THANK YOU.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH, RICH.
THANK YOU FOR THAT.
THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN WATCHING ALL
OF THE PRESENTATIONS, IT'S WHAT
A PROJECT MANAGER HAS TO DO IS
FIND SOLUTIONS WHEN PROBLEMS
COME UP.
I AM THE LUCY PROJECT MANAGER AT
NASA GODDARD.
YOU HAVE HEARD FROM AMAZING
FOLKS ON THE PROJECT, WHAT YOU
ARE GOING TO HEAR FROM ME IS
JUST A LITTLE BIT ABOUT OUR
EXECUTION HERE AT KSC AND THE
REST OF THE WORK LEADING UP TO
LAUNCH.
LET ME START OFF BY SAYING I AM
SO EXCITED TO BE LESS THAN THREE
WEEKS FROM THE OPENING OF OUR
PLANETARY LAUNCH WINDOW.
IT'S HARD TO BELIEVE THAT WE
HAVE MANAGED TO GET TO THIS
POINT.
WE HAVE MANAGED TO GET TO THIS
POINT IN THE PANDEMIC.
RICH TALKED ABOUT THE WORK THAT
WAS DONE.
ONCE WE LANDED HERE AT THE END
OF JULY, WE HAD ABOUT SEVEN
WEEKS OF STAND-ALONE WORK, WORK
IN A THE SPACECRAFT NEEDED TO DO
BEFORE BEING INTEGRATED INTO OR
ON TOP OF THE LAUNCH VEHICLE.
THE BULK OF THAT WORK HAS BEEN
COMPLETE.
ANY TIME YOU HAVE A MAJOR
CONFIGURATION CHANGE, ONE OF THE
THINGS YOU WANT TO DO IS YOU
WANT TO COMPLETE SOME FUNCTIONAL
TESTING IN SECTIONS TO VERIFY
THE PERFORMANCE AND COMPARE IT
TO THE BASELINE YOU HAVE
ESTABLISHED THROUGHOUT YOUR
ENVIRONMENTAL CAMPAIGN.
THERE ARE A NUMBER OF WEEKS OF
TESTING, INSPECTING THE
HARDWARE, THE SPACECRAFT WITH
THE SOLAR RAYS INSTALLED, BUT WE
HAD THE HIGH GAIN ANTENNAS.
AT THIS POINT YOU ARE LOOKING AT
A PHOTO OF THE SPACECRAFT, YOU
CAN SEE THE DISK.
THAT'S BEEN RE-INSTALLED.
WE HAVE COMPLETED THE BULK OF
OUR BLANKET CLOSE-OUT IN
PREPARATION FOR LAUNCH.
THE MAJORITY OF THE STAND-ALONE
WORK IS COMPLETE.
WE HAVE ACTUALLY COMPLETED OUR
POWER TESTING AND PRETTY MUCH ON
SCHEDULE.
THIS TEAM HAS DONE AN
EXCEPTIONAL JOB.
NOT ONLY EXECUTING THE PLAN, BUT
DOING IT IN A MANNER THAT HAS
KEPT THE TEAM SAFE.
THEN UNDER COVID-19, ADHERING TO
PROTOCOLS WE PUT IN PLACE FOR
THE PROJECT.
SO WE ARE PRETTY EXCITED BECAUSE
WE ARE CURRENTLY PREPPING FOR
ENCAPSULATION WHICH IS WHEN WE
INSTALL THE SPACECRAFT INTO OUR
PAYLOAD FERRING.
THAT'S GOING TO START TOMORROW.
WE SHOULD HAVE IT FULLY ENCAPS
LATED BY NEXT WEEK AND THEN
WE'LL TRANSPORT OUT TO THE
VETERAN CAM INTEGRATION FACILITY
OUT AT THE PAD.
AND WE'LL BE HOISTED ON TOP OF
THE LAUNCH VEHICLE.
THINGS ARE MOVING REALLY
QUICKLY.
AND WE HAVE A LOT OF ACTIVITIES,
A LOT OF REVIEWS AND ADDITIONAL
CHECKOUTS IN TESTING THAT WE ARE
GOING TO DO ONCE WE ARE
INTEGRATED ON TO THE LAUNCH
VEHICLE.
BUT LASTLY, I WANT TO TALK ABOUT
WHAT REALLY IS THE MOST
IMPORTANT THING ABOUT THIS
PROJECT, BEYOND THE SCIENCE.
WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT ALL THE
HUNDREDS OF FOLKS THAT HAVE
TOUCHED THIS SPACECRAFT AND
TOUCHED THE INSTRUMENTS ACROSS
ALL OF OUR PARTNERS, HAL, THE
PI, OUR LEAD, OUR RICH AND
KEITH, THE PROJECT SCIENTISTS
FROM GODDARD.
AND THEN OUR INSTRUMENT
PROVIDERS, RALPH AT GODDARD, ASU
AS WELL AS LORI FROM JOHNS
HOPKINS APPLIED PHYSICS LAB.
IN ADDITION TO THAT, KINETICS
WHICH IS PROVIDING THE
NAVIGATION AND KSC WHICH IS
PROVIDING LAUNCH SERVICES.
WERE IT NOT FOR THIS AMAZING
TEAM OF TALENTED FOLKS, WE
WOULDN'T BE WHERE WE ARE TODAY.
I CERTAINLY OWE THEM A DEBT OF
GRATITUDE AND WANT TO EXPRESS
AWESOME THIS TEAM HAS BEEN.
WITH THAT, I TURN IT BACK OVER
TO ALANNA.
>> THANK YOU, DONYA, VERY MUCH.
THANK YOU FOR SHOWING TRUE
LEADERSHIP BY EXAMPLE AND
WORKING IN UNFORESEEN TECHNICAL
CHALLENGES.
THAT'S WHAT WE DO.
YOU WERE THE RIGHT PERSON TO
JUST SHOW WE ADAPT AND OVERCOME,
AND YOU SWITCHED IT ON THE FLY.
IT ALL WORKED.
SO NOW WE'LL BE BRINGING IN OUR
MEDIA LINE OPERATOR, ALI, TO
OPEN UP THE KEY FOR OUR
REPORTERS WHO HAVE CALLED IN.
IF YOU ARE A MEMBER OF THE MEDIA
ON THE TELECOM LINES, PRESS
STAR-1 TO BE PLACED INTO THE
CUE.
ANYONE WATCHING THIS BRIEFING
CAN ALSO REQUEST A QUESTION
USING A #ASKNASA.
OVER TO YOU, ALI.
>> GREAT.
AS STATED, TO ASK A QUESTION,
PLEASE DIAL STAR-1 NOW.
ALL RIGHT.
AND WE WILL WAIT JUST A MOMENT
FOR THE QUESTION TO CUE UP HERE.
ALL RIGHT.
AND WE DO HAVE SOME QUESTIONS IN
THE CUE.
THIS COMES FROM JEFF FAUST,
SPACE NEWS.
YOUR LINE IS OPEN.
>> THANK YOU.
QUESTION PROBABLY FOR LORI
GLAZE.
WE ARE RUNNING THE RISK OF A
GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN.
THAT HAPPENS AT THE END OF THIS
WEEK.
DO YOU HAVE AN EXCEPTION TO
ALLOW PROCESSING FOR THE LUCY
LAUNCH TO CONTINUE GIVEN THE
TIGHT LAUNCH WINDOW AND
SIMILARLY, DART HAS A NARROW
LAUNCH WINDOW IN NOVEMBER.
>> THANK YOU FOR THAT QUESTION.
AS ALL THE AGENCIES ARE DOING
RIGHT NOW, WE ARE KEEPING A
CLOSE EYE ON WHAT'S GOING ON,
HOPING THAT WE CAN ALL GET A
CONTINUING RESOLUTION TO
CONTINUE OPERATING.
AS OF RIGHT NOW, LUCY IS ON
TRACK FOR LAUNCH IN OCTOBER AND
DART IN NOVEMBER.
>> GREAT.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR QUESTION.
OUR NEXT QUESTION COMES FROM
MARCIA DUNN WITH THE ASSOCIATED
PRESS.
YOUR LINE IS OPEN.
>> HELLO.
I HEARD ONE OF THE PRESENTERS
MENTION THAT THE SPACECRAFT WILL
COME WITHIN 600 MILES OF THESE
ASTEROIDS.
WHAT'S THE CLOSEST APPROACH
BETWEEN ANY OF THE ASTEROIDS AND
THE SPACECRAFT?
HOW DID YOU PICK THESE
PARTICULAR ASTEROIDS IN THE
TROJANS, HOW MANY ARE OUT THERE,
IT LOOKS SWARMY AND WHAT'S THE
RISK OF RUNNING INTO THEM AND
COLLIDING.
THANK YOU.
>> I DON'T KNOW, HAL, DO YOU
WANT ME?
>> WHY DON'T I START WITH THAT.
SURE, I WILL START WITH THAT AND
HAND IT OFF TO KEITH IN A COUPLE
OF MINUTES.
WE CHOSE OUR TARGETS, ACTUALLY,
WE WERE PRETTY LUCKY TO BE ABLE
TO GET THE DIVERSITY WE HAVE.
WE STARTED OFF LOOKING FOR A
PAIR OF OBJECTS, ONE GRAY AND
ONE RED, THAT WERE SIMILAR ONE
ANOTHER, SO WE COULD COMPARE THE
COLORS DIRECTLY.
BUT THAT GREW SIMPLY BECAUSE MY
TRAINING IS DOING DYNAMICS.
I SPENT 40 YEARS WORSHIPING AT
THE FEET OF THE MECHANICS GODS.
THEY ARE PAYING US BACK.
THIS IS AN AMAZING TRAJECTORY
THAT WILL NOT BE POSSIBLE AGAIN
IN THE NEAR FUTURE.
AND WE LOOKED.
A LOT OF IT WAS SIMPLY JUST
LUCK.
BUT I WILL HAND OVER THE
QUESTION TO HOW CLOSE WE ARE
GETTING BACK TO KEITH SINCE HE'S
THE ONE WHO MENTIONED IT IN THE
FIRST PLACE.
>> SO FOR MOST OF THE TARGETS WE
ARE GOING ABOUT 600 MILES.
FOR ONE OF OUR SMALLEST TARGETS,
WE ARE GOING CLOSER.
I CAN TELL YOU IN KILOMETERS,
I'M NOT SURE I WANT TO TRY TO
CONVERT TO MILES ON THE FLY, BUT
IT'S ABOUT 250 MILES.
AND THAT'S DETERMINED BY
TRADE-OFF.
WE WANT TO GO CLOSE ENOUGH THAT
WE CAN GET ENOUGH OF A VELOCITY
CHANGE FROM THE GRAVITY OF THE
TROJAN ITSELF THAT WE CAN
MEASURE THE MASS.
AND WE ALSO WANT TO BE CLOSE
ENOUGH THAT WE CAN SEE DETAIL ON
THE SURFACES SO THAT WE CAN GET
THIS HUNDRED TIMES RANGE AT
LEAST.
BUT IF WE GOT TOO CLOSE, THEN
DURING THE CLOSEST APPROACH,
IT'S DIFFICULT TO TRACK THE
SPACECRAFT, YOU CAN GET SOME
SMEARING.
SO THERE IS A TRADE-OFF.
THE RANGE THAT WE HAVE IS THE
OPTIMAL RANGE.
WE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO TWEAK
THOSE AROUND A LITTLE BIT.
BUT MORE OR LESS IT'S ROUGHLY IN
THAT MILE RANGE.
ONE THING YOU ASKED ABOUT IS THE
NUMBER OF TROJANS.
RIGHT NOW THERE'S OVER 7,000
NUMBERED TROJAN, MORE BEING
DISCOVERED.
ALL THE BIG ONES ARE KNOWN.
GETTING BACK TO WHAT HAL WAS
SAYING ABOUT BEING LUCKY WITH
THE TARGETS, THE LARGER ONES ARE
BETTER SUITED FOR A FLY-BY
MISSION, FOR THE SMALL TARGETS,
THEY ARE SO SMALL, YOU GO BY
PRETTY QUICKLY AND YOU DON'T GET
A CHANCE TO HAVE A LOT OF DETAIL
OBSERVATIONS THE WAY WE WILL
WITH OUR LARGER TARGETS.
>> I WOULD LIKE TO FOLLOW-UP.
>> WHAT'S THE CHANCES OF GETTING
HIT BY ONE OF THESE 7,000 OR
MORE TROJANS.
>> WELL, THE 7,000 ARE NUMBERED
TROJANS.
THERE ARE MANY, MANY MORE OF
THEM THAN THAT.
THE POPULATION RIVALS THAT OF
THE MAIN ASTEROID BELT.
SO THERE ARE QUITE A FEW.
BUT EVEN THOSE ARE A LOT OF
THEM.
THEY ARE STILL VERY FAR APART.
IF YOU WERE STANDING ON ANY OF
OUR TARGETS, YOU COULDN'T TELL
YOU WERE PART OF THE SWARM.
THEY HIT EACH OTHER RARELY.
IT'S ESSENTIALLY A ZERO PERCENT
PROBABILITY THAT WE'LL HIT
SOMETHING LIKE A SOLID BODY AS
WE GO THROUGH THESE SWARMS.
WE HAVE GONE THROUGH THE
ASTEROID BELT, WHICH IS MORE
DENSE THAN THE TROJANS, MANY,
MANY TIMES, AND NEVER HAD A
PROBLEM.
>> OKAY.
GREAT.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR QUESTION.
OUR NEXT QUESTION COMES FROM
MIKE WALL WITH SPACE.COM.
YOUR MIC IS OPEN, GO AHEAD WITH
YOUR QUESTION, PLEASE.
>> THANK YOU.
THIS IS PROBABLY ALSO FOR HAL OR
KEITH.
SINCE YOU ARE SPENDING A LOT OF
TIME DURING THE FLY-BYES, ARE
YOU GOING TO DO ANY SCIENCE
WORK?
>> I GUESS I CAN TAKE THAT ONE
AS WELL.
WE ARE BEGINNING TO THINK ABOUT
IT.
UP TO THIS POINT WE HAVE BEEN
CONCENTRATING ON WHAT WE'LL DO
WITH THE ENCOUNTERS THEM
SATISFIES.
WE ARE DEVELOPING PLANS FOR WHEN
WE ARE IN CRUISE.
THOSE ARE JUST BEING DEVELOPED
EVEN AS WE SPEAK.
>> AND IF I MAY, HAL, I WILL ADD
ONE DETAIL.
FOR L-RALPH, TYPICALLY THE
INFRARED PORTION, BECAUSE IT'S
AN INFRARED, IT HAS TO BE COLD
TO OPERATE.
WE DON'T HAVE A COOL AIR ON
BOARD.
IT'S PASSIVELY DOOM BY RADIATING
TO SPACE.
WHEN WE ARE CLOSE TO THE EARTH,
WE ARE MORE THAN LIKELY TOO WARM
TO USE LISA FOR ANY
MEASUREMENTS.
>> OKAY.
WE ARE GOING TO JUMP ON OVER TO
SOME SOCIAL MEDIA QUESTIONS THAT
KEEP POURING IN FOR US.
I'M GOING TO START WITH EZRA ON
TWITTER ASKS, WHAT WILL THE LUCY
MISSION DO AFTER IT HAS
COMPLETED ITS PRIMARY MISSION?
I THINK I MIGHT HAVE HAL TAKE
THAT ONE.
>> I WOULD BE HAPPY TO TAKE THAT
ONE.
WELL, IF THE SPACECRAFT IS
HEALTHY AND THERE IS FUEL LEFT,
THERE ARE CERTAIN -- MANY
OPPORTUNITIES.
WE ARE PUTTING IT ON THIS ORBIT
WITH CLOSE APPROACH DISTANCE, A
LITTLE CLOSER THAN THE EARTH'S
ORBIT TO THE SUN.
DISTANCE, IT'S A LITTLE BEYOND.
IT TURNS OUT THAT THAT IS AN
INCREDIBLY STABLE ORBIT.
WE ESTIMATE THAT THE SPACECRAFT
WILL STAY IN ORBIT LIKE THAT FOR
OVER A MILLION YEARS ON AVERAGE.
BUT FOR THE NEAR TIME, IF THE
SPACECRAFT IS HEALTHY, WE HAVE
ALTERNATIVES THAT WE CAN GO TO.
I THINK WE FOUND A LIST OF 15 OR
20 FOLLOW-UP OBJECTS.
TO NOT ALL UP TO NASA TO DECIDE
WHETHER THEY WANT TO DO THAT OR
NOT.
>> OKAY.
GREAT.
I DO HAVE ONE MORE QUESTION FROM
ROGER ON Facebook.
THIS IS A FUN ONE THAT I THINK
HAL AND KEITH, YOU CAN PROBABLY
ALSO TALK TO THIS, ACTUALLY,
ANYBODY CAN.
ROGER ON Facebook ASKS, LUCY
IS NAMED AFTER THE LUCY FOSSIL.
LUCY THE FOSSIL WAS NAMED AFTER
THE BEATLE'S SONG "LUCY IN THE
SKY WITH DIAMONDS."
DOES THE LUCY MISSION HAVE ANY
DIAMONDS ON BOARD?
>> YOU TAKE THIS ONE, KEITH.
>> WE DO.
IN FACT, AN INSTRUMENT HAS
DIAMOND BEAM SPLITTER IN IT.
IT SPLITS THE LIGHT IN TWO
DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS AND
MEASURES THE DIFFERENCES.
[INDISCERNIBLE]
>> THAT'S FANTASTIC.
OF COURSE, IT'S FITTING.
>> LET ME ALSO POINT OUT IF I
CAN, WE WERE AWARE OF THAT
CONNECTION, OF COURSE.
THAT'S WHY OUR LOGO WAS DIAMOND
SHAPED, TO MAKE THAT CONNECTION
WITH THE SONG.
>> EXCELLENT.
OKAY.
WE'LL HAND IT BACK OVER FOR SOME
MORE MEDIA QUESTIONS.
ALI?
>> GREAT.
THANK YOU, ALANNA.
TO PICK UP WHERE WE LEFT OFF,
OUR NEXT QUESTION COMES FROM
STEVEN CLARK WITH SPACE FLIGHT
NOW.
YOUR LINE IS OPEN.
GO AHEAD WITH YOUR QUESTION,
PLEASE.
>> THANK YOU FOR TAKING MY
QUESTIONS.
JUST TO FOLLOW-UP ON JEFF
FAUST'S QUESTION, I WASN'T CLEAR
IN YOUR RESPONSE IF YOU HAVE
RECEIVED AN EXCEPTION FROM THE
ADMINISTRATION TO CONTINUE WORK
ON LUCY AND DART IN THE EVENT OF
A GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN.
ARE THERE PLANS TO STAY ON TRACK
IF THAT HAPPENS.
CAN YOU SHARE THE TOTAL COST OF
THE LUCY MISSION.
AND THEN A SCIENCE QUESTION FOR
HAL OR KEITH.
CAN YOU TALK ABOUT WHAT WE KNOW
ABOUT EACH OF THESE OBJECTS FROM
EARTH OBSERVATIONS, DO WE KNOW
THEIR SHAPE OR ANYTHING FROM
TELESCOPE OBSERVATIONS.
THANKS.
>> IN ANSWER TO THE FIRST
QUESTION, STEVEN, THE PROCESS OF
GETTING EXCEPTIONS, THE REQUEST
PROCESS IS UNDER WAY.
IT'S NOT COMPLETED YET.
BUT WE ARE WORKING ON THAT.
AS I SAID BEFORE, KEEPING A
CLOSE EYE ON WHAT'S GOING ON
WITH CONGRESS AND WITH THE
BUDGET.
AND AS I SAID, EVERYTHING IS
PROCEEDING FORWARD WITH THE
LAUNCH.
THE SECOND QUESTION YOU ASKED
HAS TO DO WITH COST.
I KNOW I HAVE THAT RIGHT HERE AT
MY FINGERTIPS.
THE TOTAL AGENCY COST, THIS IS
FOR THE ENTIRE MISSION, FROM
PHASE A ALL THE WAY THROUGH THE
COMPLETION OF THE 12 YEAR
OPERATIONS AND ALSO INCLUDED
HEADQUARTERS RESERVES, THAT
AGENCY COMMITMENT IS
981.1 MILLION.
>> I'M GOING TO ADD.
I'M GOING TO ASK KEITH, SINCE
HE'S OUR GROUND BASED OBSERVER
TO ANSWER THE SECOND PART OF
THAT QUESTION.
>> SURE.
SO WE HAVE BEEN WORKING HARD TO
TRY TO GET AS MUCH INFORMATION
AS WE POSSIBLY CAN ABOUT THE
TARGETS, THE COLORS WERE ALREADY
KNOWN.
SO WE HAVE TARGETS THAT ARE EACH
OF THE THREE MAIN TYPES THAT WE
FIND IN THE TROJANS, C TYPES, P
TYPES AND B TYPES, THAT TELLS
YOU HOW RED THEY ARE.
WE HAVE DONE A SEARCH FOR
SATELLITES WITH HUBBLE AND
THAT'S WHAT RESULTED IN THE
DETECTION OF KETA, THE SATELLITE
OF URIBITES.
KETA IS A FAIRLY WIDE SATELLITE.
MOST ASTEROID SATELLITES ARE
CLOSER THAN WE CAN SEE EVEN WITH
HUBBLE.
SO LUCY CERTAINLY HAS THE CHANCE
TO FIND THE SATELLITES.
WE ARE ALSO INVOLVED IN GROUND
BASED OBSERVING TO MEASURE THE
LIGHT CURVE VARIATIONS THAT
HELPS YOU DETERMINE THE SHAPE.
AND EVEN MORE POWERFULLY, WE
HAVE PRETTY EXTENSIVE CAMPAIGN
OF TRYING TO CATCH THESE
ASTEROID TARGETS WHEN THEY PASS
IN FRONT OF BRIGHT STARS.
AND THAT IS THE MOST PRECISE WAY
OF DETERMINING SHAPES.
ALL OF THIS IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE
AS WE ARE FLYING ALMOST DIRECTLY
TOWARD THESE OBJECTS AND
NAVIGATING ON-BOARD BECAUSE
THERE ISN'T TIME TO COMMUNICATE
WITH THE SPACECRAFT APPROACH.
KNOWING THE SHAPE VERY PRECISELY
AHEAD OF TIME HELPS US ADJUST
WHERE WE END UP POINTING THE
TARGET.
WE DON'T WANT TO BE FOOLED BY AN
ESPECIALLY COMPLEX SHAPE OF ONE
OF THE TARGETS.
>> I WILL JUMP OVER TO SOCIAL
MEDIA AGAIN.
I'M GOING TO JUMP IN.
LET'S GO WITH MARCIA.
>> YES.
>> YOUR LINE IS NOW OPEN.
GO AHEAD.
>> THANK YOU.
FOR TWO FOLLOW-UP QUESTIONS.
YOU MENTIONED THAT THIS
TRAJECTORY WOULDN'T BE POSSIBLE
AGAIN IN THE FUTURE.
ARE WE TALKING YEARS, CENTURIES,
THAT THESE OBJECTS LINED UP
PERFECTLY FOR THIS CRUISE?
AND IS THERE ANYTHING THAT NASA
OR ANYONE ELSE CAN LEARN FROM
THIS MISSION THAT CAN HELP EARTH
DODGE A MENACING ASTEROID DOWN
THE ROAD OR IS THAT SOMETHING
WE'LL HAVE TO WAIT FOR DART FOR?
THANKS.
>> THE ANSWER TO YOUR FIRST
QUESTION IS WE DIDN'T ANALYZE
THIS LIKE YOU SUGGESTED.
WE TOOK A COUPLE OF TIMES IN THE
NEAR FUTURE AND THEN ASKED
OURSELVES WHAT WE WOULD BE ABLE
TO DO IF WE LAUNCHED IN THOSE
YEARS.
AND THE TRAJECTORY WE FOUND AND
THE TARGET LIST WE FOUND WAS
NOWHERE NEAR AS INSPIRING AS
THIS.
SO I CAN'T REALLY ANSWER THAT
QUESTION IN A STATISTICAL WAY.
THE ANSWER TO YOUR SECOND
QUESTION, IS THAT NO, I MEAN, WE
ARE REALLY DEALING WITH OBJECTS
HERE, EVEN OUR SMALLEST TARGET
THAT IS MUCH BIGGER THAN
ANYTHING THAT YOU COULD
POTENTIALLY HIT THE EARTH IN THE
NEAR FUTURE.
AS A RESULT, ALTHOUGH WE ARE
GOING TO LEARN SOMETHING ABOUT,
LET'S SAY, THE INTERNAL
STRUCTURE OF OUR OBJECTS OR THE
SURFACE PROPERTIES OF OUR
OBJECTS, IT'S NOT GOING TO TEACH
US MUCH ABOUT THE OBJECTS THAT
COULD POTENTIALLY IMPACT THE
EARTH.
>> OKAY.
I'M GOING TO TAKE ONE FROM
SOCIAL MEDIA HERE.
I BELIEVE A GOOD ONE FOR DONYA.
BILLY WEST ON TWITTER ASKS HOW
LONG COULD LUCY BE ABLE TO GET
POWER FROM ITS SOLAR ARRAYS AND
ITS SOLAR PANELS, LONGER THAN
THE MAIN MISSION?
COULD IT CONTINUE TO GET POWER
BEYOND THE MISSION?
>> THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION.
IT REALLY DEPENDS ON YOUR SYSTEM
DESIGN, RIGHT.
SO PART OF THAT VERIFICATION AND
DESIGN PROCESS IS IN SHOWING
THAT YOU HAVE MATERIALS THAT
HAVE THE PROPERTIES AND
CAPABILITIES TO SURVIVE THE
ENVIRONMENT THAT IT'S GOING TO
BE IN.
SO BASED ON THE SYSTEM DESIGN,
WE HAVE CONFIDENCE THAT THE
SOLAR RAYS WILL SURVIVE OUR
MISSION AND SURVIVE LONGER THAN
THAT.
CAN WE PREDICT THAT FROM A
STATISTICAL STANDPOINT?
NOT REALLY.
WE HAVE CONFIDENCE IT WILL
PROVIDE BEYOND THE 12 YEAR
MISSION.
>> THANK YOU, DONYA.
NICHOLAS ASKS ARE THE SOLAR
PANELS AT RISK FROM SPACE
DEBRIS?
>> THANKS FOR THAT QUESTION.
NICHOLAS, YES, THEY CAN BE.
WE HAVE ANALYZED THEY CAN BE HIT
BY A MICROMETEORITE.
THAT COULD TAKE AN IMPACT.
WE FULLY DESIGNED THAT INTO OUR
ANALYSIS AND INTO THE SOLAR RAYS
ITSELF.
SO WE CAN STILL COMPLETE THIS
MISSION.
SO YES, WE CAN TAKE A HIT AND WE
CAN SURVIVE IT.
AND IT DEPENDS ON THE SIDES AND
HOW MANY HITS WE HAVE.
BUT WE HAVE ANALYZED THAT AND
THAT KEEPS OUR SOLAR RAYS
POWERING THE SPACECRAFT FOR MANY
YEARS PAST OUR LUCY MISSION
TIMELINE.
>> EXCELLENT.
THANK YOU.
>> IF I MAY ADD ONE DETAIL TO
THAT.
THE INTERESTING THING ABOUT THE
WAY THE SOLAR ARRAYS ARE
CONSTRUCTED IS THAT THERE'S A
WHOLE SERIES OF SEPARATE STRINGS
OF SMALL SOLAR COLLECTORS.
SO YOU CAN EVEN LOSE SOME OF
THOSE STRINGS AND STILL HAVE
ENOUGH POWER.
WE HAVE ENOUGH POWER MARGIN
BUILT IN THAT THESE COLLISIONS,
IF THEY DID OCCUR AND TOOK OUT A
STRING OR TWO, WE WOULD STILL BE
OKAY.
>> GREAT.
THANK YOU FOR THAT ADDITIONAL
KEY PIECE, VERY INFORMATIVE.
I'M GOING TO TURN IT RIGHT BACK
OVER TO ALI ON OUR MEDIA LINE.
GO AHEAD, ALI.
>> GREAT.
THANK YOU, ALANNA.
OUR NEXT QUESTION ON THE MEDIA
SIDE COMES FROM CHRISTOPHER WITH
SPACE SHUTTLE.
YOUR LINE IS OPEN.
>> HI, CAN YOU TALK ABOUT ANY
DIFFERENCES FROM THE FINAL COST
YOU MENTIONED, 988 MILLION, AS
OPPOSED TO WHAT YOU PROJECTED
DURING THE PLANNING STAGE OR ANY
OTHER EXTRICATIONS THAT BECAME
DIFFERENT IN THE SCHEDULE OR
MISSION DETAILS?
>> I WILL TAKE THAT ONE, IF
THAT'S OKAY.
THAT COST THAT I GAVE YOU, THE
981.1 IS THE COST THIS MISSION
WAS CONFIRMED AT.
THAT'S THE POINT WHERE THE
AGENCY MAKES A COMMITMENT.
EVERYTHING UP TO THAT POINT,
LEADING UP TO THAT, IS WHETHER
AN EARLY FORMULATION IN TRYING
TO DEVELOP WHAT THE MISSION IS
GOING TO LOOK LIKE.
THIS MISSION HAS STAYED ON TRACK
WELL WITHIN THAT CONFIRMED COST.
THEY HAVE DONE AN INCREDIBLE JOB
OF MANAGING THE PROJECT.
I COULDN'T BE MORE PROUD OF DAN
YEAH AND HER LEADERSHIP OF THIS
TEAM OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE
HARDWARE SHE AND HAL LEADING
THIS TEAM ABLE TO DELIVER ON
SCHEDULE AND WELL WITHIN COST
EVEN WITH THE COVID PANDEMIC
GOING ON RIGHT NOW.
THEY HAVE DONE AN INCREDIBLE
JOB.
THAT NUMBER HAS NOT CHANGED.
>> THANK YOU, LORI.
OKAY.
WE ARE GOING TO TAKE ONE FINAL
QUESTION FROM OUR VIEWERS
ON-LINE.
LAURA ASKS HOW DO YOU SIMULATE A
SPACE ENVIRONMENT ON THE GROUND
SO WE CAN MAKE SURE LUCY WORKS
OKAY IN SPACE.
WE DON'T HAVE ZERO GRAVITY OR
TEMPERATURE SWINGS.
>> THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION.
I WILL START WITH THAT RESPONSE.
RICH, YOU CAN JUMP IN.
SO RICH TALKED ABOUT THE
ENVIRONMENTAL TEST CAMPAIGN THAT
THE SPACECRAFT WAS SUBJECTED TO.
THAT'S KEY, YOU ARE RIGHT.
WE DON'T HAVE A ZERO GRAVITY
ENVIRONMENT.
BUT WE DO HAVE TEST FACILITIES
WHERE WE CAN SIMULATE THE
ENVIRONMENT.
THERE IS A LOT OF ANALYSIS
THAT'S DONE IN ORDER TO DESIGN A
CONFIGURATION TO SIMULATE
BOUNDARY CONDITIONS.
THE SPACECRAFT IS SUBJECTED TO
THE MECHANICAL.
WE LIKE TO CALL IT THE SHAKE 'N
BAKE.
SO WE SUBJECT IT TO THE
MECHANICAL ENVIRONMENT, THE MOST
STRESSING MECHANICAL
ENVIRONMENT, THE LAUNCH
ENVIRONMENT, AS WELL AS THE
TEMPERATURE EXTREMES.
AND SO THAT GIVES US CONFIDENCE
THAT IT'S GOING TO SURVIVE.
THROUGH THAT ANALYSIS WE ASSESS
THE HARDWARE THAT IS SENSITIVE
TO GRAVITY OR ZERO GRAVITY.
AND IF IT WARRANTS, THERE'S
MECHANICAL GFCs THAT CAN BE
STRUCTURED.
SO THERE IS A VERY SOPHISTICATED
ENVIRONMENTAL TEST PROGRAM AS
WELL AS A VERIFICATION PROGRAM
THAT'S DONE ON THE GROUND TO
SIMULATE THE SPACE ENVIRONMENT
TO GIVE US CONFIDENCE THAT IT'S
GOING TO SURVIVE.
AS PART OF THAT, WE BUILT IN
MARGINS TO ACCOUNT FOR THE
UNCERTAINTY IN OUR ANALYSIS AND
OUR TESTING.
>> I THINK THE ONLY THING I WILL
ADD TO THAT, DONYA, FROM A ZERO
GRAVITY STANDPOINT, WE USE
BALLOONS, LARGE HELIUM BALLOONS
THAT WE CONNECT TO OUR IPP OR
INSTRUMENT PLANNING PLATFORM,
AND IT OFF-LOADS THAT PLATFORM
TO SIMULATE ZERO GRAVITY TEST.
WE ALSO DO THAT WITH THE SOLAR
RAY, WITH THE LARGE STRUCTURE
THAT WE HAVE, CALLED THE MAYPOLE
AND IT OFF-LOADS THE SOLAR RAY
SO IT OPENS UP AND DEPLOYS IN A
SIMULATED ZERO G ENVIRONMENT.
WE DO THE BEST WE CAN ON EARTH
EVEN THOUGH WE ARE AT THE MERCY
OF GRAVITY HERE.
SO WE USE BALLOONS AND
OFF-LOADING TO MAKE THAT HAPPEN.
>> SO THIS IS HOW --
>> PLEASE DO, HAL.
>> I JUST WANT TO CORRECT
SOMETHING THAT DONYA AND RICH
SAID.
THEY WERE USING IT, WHAT THEIR
RESPONSES WERE IN THE PRESENT
TENSE.
I WANT TO REMIND EVERYBODY IT
SHOULD BE IN THE PAST TENSE.
LUCY IS DONE.
AND WE ARE READY TO FLY.
>> THAT'S TRUE.
>> ABSOLUTELY.
>> WE ARE READY TO FLY.
UNFORTUNATELY, WE CANNOT ANSWER
ALL THE MEDIA QUESTIONS THAT WE
HAVE FOR ON-AIR.
AND THOSE OF YOU WITH ADDITIONAL
QUESTIONS ON-LINE, PLEASE FEEL
FREE CONTINUE ASKING ON-LINE.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE LUCY
MISSION, VISIT US ON-LINE AT
NASA.GOV/LUCY.
AND CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION ON
SOCIAL MEDIA.
BY FOLLOWING @NASA SOLAR SYSTEM
AND @NASA AND USING THE
#LUCYMISSION
THANKS FOR WATCHING TODAY.
GO LUCY.