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Hal Levison

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description Hal Levison Overview

Hal Levison is a modern American astronomer specializing in planetary dynamics. His research focuses on the motion of asteroids and comets, particularly those within the asteroid belt and Trojan populations around Jupiter. He leads the Lucy mission, selected by NASA to study these unique objects, providing crucial data for understanding solar system formation. This work benefits scientists studying planetary evolution and the origins of our solar system.

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What is NASA's Lucy mission?

Lucy is a NASA spacecraft designed to visit the Jupiter Trojan asteroids—primitive bodies that share Jupiter's orbit around the Sun in two large swarms. Hal Levison, a planetary scientist at the Southwest Research Institute, is the mission's principal investigator.

When was the Lucy mission selected and when did it launch?

Lucy was selected as part of NASA's Discovery Program in January 2017 and launched on October 16, 2021, from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The spacecraft is on a 12-year journey to fly by multiple Trojan asteroid targets.

Which Trojan asteroids will Lucy visit?

Lucy will visit asteroids in both the leading (L4) and trailing (L5) Trojan swarms associated with Jupiter's orbit. Named targets include Eurybates, Polymele, Leucus, Orus, and the binary pair Patroclus–Menoetius, plus a main-belt asteroid named Donaldjohanson encountered in 2025.

Where does Hal Levison work?

Hal Levison is a planetary scientist at the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) in Boulder, Colorado. He is also known for co-authoring the SWIFT numerical integration code widely used in celestial mechanics, together with Martin Duncan.