Psyche's Mars Flyby Tests Instruments Ahead of Metal World Mission

NASA’s Psyche spacecraft used a May 15, 2026 Mars flyby to test its science suite—gamma-ray and neutron spectrometer, magnetometer and multispectral imager—during a gravity assist en route to asteroid 16 Psyche. Although the gamma-ray instrument didn’t detect Mars gamma rays from that distance, it confirmed the sensor’s operation by recording a flow of escaping neutrons; the magnetometer captured Mars’ bow shock field fluctuations; and the imager provided time-lapse and high-resolution views of the planet’s south polar region and features like the Huygens crater. The flyby also feeds into broader questions about Mars’ past magnetic field and core dynamics while setting the stage for 16 Psyche’s 2029 arrival to study whether it’s the exposed core of a protoplanet.