All articles tagged with #asteroid psyche
NASA’s Psyche spacecraft flew by Mars at about 2,800 miles on May 15, calibrating its sensors, imaging Mars, and stealing a small amount of Mars’ orbital energy to gain roughly 1,000 mph in speed and shift its orbital plane, setting the stage for a 2029 rendezvous with the metal-rich asteroid 16 Psyche.
NASA’s Psyche spacecraft used a May 15, 2026 Mars flyby to gain a gravity-assisted boost toward asteroid Psyche, approaching Mars within about 2,864 miles and gaining roughly 1,000 mph on its way to a 2029 rendezvous; a new timelapse video stitched from four May images shows Mars’ crescent to cratered disk as Psyche’s gamma-ray/neutron spectrometer, magnetometer and multispectral cameras were calibrated for the mission’s upcoming encounter.
NASA's Psyche spacecraft, on its six‑year journey to the metal asteroid Psyche, performed a May 2026 gravity assist by flying about 2,800 miles from Mars and captured striking, enhanced‑color images of the Red Planet. The resulting mosaics and close views reveal Mars’ craters and southern highlands in a perspective rarely seen in spacecraft photos. The flyby also provided a speed boost to Psyche's trajectory toward its main target, with arrival at the asteroid planned for 2029 after the 2.2‑billion‑mile voyage launched in October 2023.
NASA’s Psyche spacecraft used a Mars flyby as a gravity assist to gain speed and adjust its orbit on the way to the metal-rich asteroid Psyche in 2029, while testing its science suite (a dual-camera multispectral imager, gamma-ray/neutron spectrometer, and magnetometer). The Mars encounter yielded rare imagery from a high phase angle, including a crescent view and a southern polar to Valles Marineris panorama, helping calibrate instruments ahead of the asteroid mission. The gravity assist boosted speed by about 1,000 mph and nudged the orbit by roughly 1 degree; Psyche launched in Oct 2023 and will complete a 2.2-billion-mile journey.
NASA’s Psyche spacecraft completed a Mars flyby to gain a gravity assist, receiving a ~1,000 mph speed boost and a slight shift in its orbit as it heads toward the metal-rich asteroid Psyche. The Mars encounter served as a calibration opportunity for its instruments, including cameras and spectrometers, before arriving at Psyche in mid-2029 to map and study the asteroid’s interior, potentially revealing clues about planetary cores.
NASA’s Psyche spacecraft will perform a close Mars flyby to gain a gravitational boost on its six-year, 2.2-billion-mile voyage to the metal-rich asteroid 16 Psyche, while also allowing Mars observations and instrument testing ahead of a planned 2029 orbital rendezvous.
NASA's Psyche spacecraft captured images of Earth and the Moon from 180 million miles away during instrument checkouts, as it prepares for its 2029 arrival at the asteroid Psyche, with calibration and testing of its imaging instruments ongoing to ensure mission success.
NASA's Psyche spacecraft experienced a propulsion glitch due to a valve issue, but engineers switched to a backup fuel line to stay on course for its 2029 asteroid rendezvous, with the mission still scheduled to explore a unique metallic asteroid in the main belt.
NASA's Psyche spacecraft has switched to a backup propellant line after a valve malfunction caused a pressure drop in its xenon thrusters. The agency plans to restart the thrusters by mid-June, ensuring the mission's continuation to study the metallic asteroid Psyche in 2029, despite previous development delays and cost increases.
NASA's Psyche spacecraft, on its way to the asteroid Psyche, has captured and beamed back its first images, revealing a field of stars in the constellation Pisces. The spacecraft's twin cameras took a total of 68 images, which were stitched together to create a mosaic. The images will help determine the composition of the metal-rich asteroid and create 3D maps to understand its geology. Psyche is expected to enter the asteroid's orbit in July 2029.
NASA's Psyche spacecraft, currently millions of miles from Earth, has successfully activated its scientific instruments and captured its first images using twin cameras. The spacecraft, which set a record with its electric thrusters, is on its way to the asteroid Psyche in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. The mission team has also observed unexpected solar eruptions using the magnetometer instrument, which will provide crucial data about the asteroid's formation. Additionally, the spacecraft has achieved first light with its deep space optical communications experiment and powered on the gamma-ray detecting component of its third science instrument.
NASA's Psyche mission is set to launch on October 5th, aiming to explore the asteroid Psyche, which is located in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. This unique asteroid is believed to be dense and potentially metal-rich, unlike most asteroids that are primarily composed of rock. Scientists speculate that Psyche may have formed from an explosive collision between planetesimals or in a metal-rich pocket of the Solar System. The mission will use four different orbits to map and study the asteroid, providing insights into the early formation of our Solar System.