NASA's Lucy mission to the Trojan asteroids is scheduled to launch soon, with the agency targeting a window that opens on Saturday (Oct.16). Here at Space.com, we took a quick look at some Lucy-inspired craft activities that could help keep you occupied while you eagerly await the liftoff.
There are a number of fun and educational crafting activities available on the Lucy page maintained by the Southwest Research Institute in Colorado, home of the mission's principal investigator. For example, you can find instructions and printable templates to make your own Lucy spacecraft paper model, details on how to make a Lucy mission snowflake and even printable Lucy asteroid trading cards. There are also various Lucy flyby posters you can download for yourself as mementos of the mission.
Related: Meet the 8 asteroids NASA's Lucy spacecraft will visit
The Lucy team has also invited everyone to follow along with the mission on its 12-year journey and get involved with the "Lucy Time Capsule". How will you remember the mission? NASA wants you to show the agency on social media using the hashtag #LucyTimeCapsule. Each time Lucy completes a mission milestone, you can add something to your time capsule and see how you and the world have changed throughout the duration of the mission.
You won't be the only one taking part; Lucy is carrying its own time capsule in the form of a plaque inscribed with quotes and poems from songwriters, authors and poets. Lucy's time capsule will embark on a mighty voyage far beyond the 12-year mission as the spacecraft will continue to venture between the Trojan asteroids and Earth for hundreds of thousands of years (at least), according to NASA.
With plenty of such activities to get involved in, how will you celebrate Lucy's journey to the Trojan asteroids?
I thought I might show my appreciation for the mission by crocheting her very own Lucy. Since there was a distinct lack of crochet patterns for this impressive spacecraft, I created her own and was very happy with the results.
This crocheted Lucy comes with two striking solar panels, a high-gain antenna to the rear and an adorable smile to boot. After watching NASA's Lucy cartoon, Daisy appreciated how it brought the spacecraft to life and thought it'd be a nice idea to do the same with her crocheted version. (You can see Daisy's other crochet creations on Instagram @daisy_d_crochet.)
Lucy will embark on a monumental 12-year mission, during which it will visit a set of asteroids known as the Trojans. Lucy will analyze these asteroids and collect valuable data on their physical properties including their geology, surface composition and densities, as well as look to see if these asteroids have any satellites of their own.
You can follow Daisy Dobrijevic on Twitter at @DaisyDobrijevic. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.
