CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — A NASA spacecraft set to go where no spacecraft has gone before appears to have hit a post-launch hiccup.
While liftoff and separation were successful, Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for science at NASA Headquarters, says one of the solar arrays for the Lucy mission may not be fully latched.
For a mission that is ultimately powered by the sun, this could pose a problem.
"The team is analyzing data to determine next steps. This team has overcome many challenges already and I am confident they will prevail here as well," Zurbuchen tweeted.
The nearly 24-foot solar arrays are used to charge "Lucy's" batteries which in turn power the spacecraft's subsystems.
According to a NASA press release, Lucy is stable and power is currently charging its battery.
"In the current spacecraft attitude, Lucy can continue to operate with no threat to its health and safety," NASA wrote.
Lucy is embarking on a 12-year journey to explore the Trojan asteroids that circle the Sun and the fifth planet from it. The mission could help scientists hone their theories about how our solar system came to be 4.5 billion years ago, according to NASA.
While exploring our solar system, Lucy will visit one Main Belt asteroid and seven Trojans that are "remnants of the ancient material" used to form the solar system's outer planets.
"No other space mission in history has been launched to as many different destinations in independent orbits around our sun. Lucy will show us, for the first time, the diversity of the primordial bodies that built the planets," NASA wrote.