Lucy was launched last year on its way to the asteroids. Despite an issue with one of its solar array, the spacecraft has been traveling as hoped and is on its way to study the ancient asteroids with the aim to learn more about how the solar system formed. Some of the first images taken by Lucy's instruments have been shared by NASA.

Lucy has four cameras, two of which are used to lock onto asteroids and point the other instruments in the right direction, as she performs close flybys of them. There are two cameras that will take high-resolution images of the asteroids. Lucy has cameras and an instrument for temperature mapping.

With an exposure time of 10 seconds, the Rosette Nebula is just visible in the lower right of center of the T2CAM frame.
With an exposure time of 10 seconds, the Rosette Nebula is just visible in the lower right of center of the T2CAM frame. NASA/Goddard/SwRI

The images were taken in February of this year, as part of a procedure that involved pointing the instruments towards different targets to make sure they were sensitive and accurate. The second set of images was taken after a preliminary set of images were taken soon after launch.

The faintest visible stars in this raw L’LORRI image are roughly 17th magnitude, 50,000 times fainter than the unaided human eye can see. Image brightness levels have been adjusted to enhance visibility of faint stars. The exposure time was 10 seconds. Keen observers will notice that the stars are slightly elongated in this relatively unprocessed image; the Lucy team has techniques to mitigate this effect, and the optical quality is sufficient for accomplishing the science goals of the mission.
The faintest visible stars in this raw L’LORRI image are roughly 17th magnitude, 50,000 times fainter than the unaided human eye can see. Image brightness levels have been adjusted to enhance visibility of faint stars. The exposure time was 10 seconds. Keen observers will notice that the stars are slightly elongated in this relatively unprocessed image; the Lucy team has techniques to mitigate this effect, and the optical quality is sufficient for accomplishing the science goals of the mission. NASA/Goddard/SwRI/Johns Hopkins APL

The images show that the instruments are working well and are ready for Lucy's encounter with the asteroids.

Lucy's principal investigator, Hal Levison of the Southwest Research Institute, said that the launch has been in the works for a long time. They are like gems in the sky.

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