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NASA NTRS2023

Managing the Lucy Mission

Lucy is NASA’s 13th Discovery-class mission. It will be the first mission to encounter seven Trojan asteroids in a series of five flybys. Lucy is led by Dr. Hal Levison of the Southwest Research Institute. As the Principal Investigator, Dr. Levison is accountable to NASA for the success of the investigation, with full responsibility for its scientific integrity and execution within committed cost and schedule. Day to day management of the Lucy project is delegated to Goddard Space Flight Center. During Lucy’s development, the project experienced a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic that threatened the team’s ability to meet the planetary launch window. Despite this challenge, Lucy launched on time and under budget. This chapter discusses key factors that enabled project success.

Project Management↗

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The Big Plunge at Venus: The DAVINCI Descent Phase

DAVINCI (Deep Atmosphere Venus Investigation of Noble gases, Chemistry, and Imaging) was selected as one of two new Discovery missions in summer of 2021 with the primary goals are to study how the Venus atmosphere formed and changed over time. DAVINCI does this by making in situ measurements of the atmosphere and taking images below the cloud layer during the descent phase. The probe is neither designed nor required to land on the surface so all critical science data must be taken and transmitted to a relay spacecraft prior to impact. This architecture drives the mission to a carefully-crafted concept of operations; deployments, instrument operations, and communications are choreographed to ensure the right data is gathered at the right altitude given the uncertainties in the trajectory and timeline. A complex flow of analyses and tests throughout development will validate the system’s ability to execute the mission goals. In the end, DAVINCI will be ready for the one opportunity at one hour of descent time to meet its driving science goals.

DAVINCI↗