NASA’s Asteroid Hunter Lucy Soars Into Sky With Diamonds

A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket carrying the LUCY spacecraft lifts off from Launch Complex 41 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Oct. 16, 2021. John Raoux/AP Photo

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.—A NASA spacecraft named Lucy rocketed into the sky with diamonds Saturday morning on a 12-year quest to explore eight asteroids.

Seven of the mysterious space rocks are among swarms of asteroids sharing Jupiter’s orbit, thought to be the pristine leftovers of planetary formation.