Mars Flyby Calibrates NASA’s Psyche Mission Aiming at a Distant Asteroid
TL;DR Summary
NASA’s Psyche spacecraft used a Mars gravity assist to boost its trajectory toward the metallic asteroid 16 Psyche while calibrating its cameras and instruments, capturing Mars images and testing data-processing tools. The flyby brought it within about 4,609 kilometers (2,864 miles) of Mars and increased speed to roughly 1,600 kilometers per hour (994 mph), keeping the mission on track to reach Psyche in 2029 to map the asteroid and gain insights into Earth's interior.
- A Probe Took Incredible Pictures of Mars on Its Way to a Far-Off Asteroid WIRED
- NASA’s Psyche Mission Images Mars’ Huygens Crater NASA Science (.gov)
- See NASA's Stunning New Images of Mars Captured During an Asteroid-Bound Spacecraft's Strategic Flyby Smithsonian Magazine
- Mars flyby captures spectacular, unique views of the red planet CNN
- Mars looks blue and bruised in surreal new images from Psyche spacecraft — Space photo of the week Live Science
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