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Published: Oct. 30, 2019, 6 p.m.

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Scientists have had the opportunity to examine several asteroids in the Solar System now, and what they\\u2019ve learned is how much variety is out there, depending on the mass, distance from the Sun and composition.

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Astronomers currently know of 829,400 asteroids across the Solar System, and they\\u2019d love to visit as many of them as possible to learn more about them.

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Considering the price of a single spacecraft, that\\u2019s going to get expensive. Fortunately, there are places in the Solar System that have trapped a large number of asteroids in a way that a single spacecraft can visit several of them as part of a mission.

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They\\u2019re at Jupiter\\u2019s L4 and L5 Lagrange points, and this week NASA approved a new mission that\\u2019ll explore 7 different asteroids over a 12-year journey.

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It\\u2019s called Lucy.

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Our Book is out!
\\nhttps://www.amazon.com/Universe-Today-Ultimate-Viewing-Cosmos/dp/1624145442/

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Audio Podcast version:
\\nITunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/universe-today-guide-to-space-audio/id794058155?mt=2
\\nRSS: https://www.universetoday.com/audio

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What Fraser\'s Watching Playlist:
\\nhttps://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbJ42wpShvmkjd428BcHcCEVWOjv7cJ1G

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Weekly email newsletter:
\\nhttps://www.universetoday.com/newsletter

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Weekly Space Hangout:
\\nhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0-KklSGlCiJDwOPdR2EUcg/

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Astronomy Cast:
\\nhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUHI67dh9jEO2rvK--MdCSg

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Support us at https://www.patreon.com/universetoday
\\nMore stories at https://www.universetoday.com/
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Team: Fraser Cain - @fcain / frasercain@gmail.com
\\nKarla Thompson - @karlaii / https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEItkORQYd4Wf0TpgYI_1fw
\\nChad Weber - weber.chad@gmail.com

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References:
\\nhttps://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2019/lucy-mission-clears-critical-milestone
\\nhttps://www.lpi.usra.edu/decadal/sbag/topical_wp/AndrewSRivkin-trojans.pdf
\\nhttps://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/lucy-the-first-mission-to-jupiter-s-trojans
\\nhttp://lucy.swri.edu//mission/Targets.html
\\nhttps://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Asteroids_Structure_and_composition_of_asteroids
\\nhttps://sci.esa.int/web/mars-express/-/31031-phobos
\\nhttp://lucy.swri.edu//mission/Spacecraft.html

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