The Lucy spacecraft is set to utilize a gravitational slingshot maneuver around Earth.

NASA's Lucy mission is en route towards the Jupiter Trojans, a pair of clusters of primitive asteroids ensnared within Jupiter's orbital path, presenting potential insights into planetary formation. Lucy was launched on October 16, 2021, and following a year in solar orbit, it is poised to journey back home on its launch anniversary to undergo the first of three gravitational boosts from Earth. On October 16, 2022, Lucy will elegantly glide past Earth, akin to a dance partner in a swing routine, amplifying its speed and stretching its solar trajectory. Precisely at 7:04 am Eastern Time, Lucy will execute its closest approach, skimming at a mere 219 miles above the planet's surface—lower even than the International Space Station's orbit. This extraordinary proximity will magnify its velocity by four-and-a-half miles per second, propelling Lucy to amass even greater momentum as it embarks on its second Earth gravity assist in December 2024. For more details, consult: NASA Lucy Earth Gravity Assist.