NASA’s Psyche spacecraft returns unfamiliar views of a familiar world

A NASA spacecraft is making significant progress on its six-year journey through the Solar System, recently utilizing a close encounter with Mars as a critical test for its upcoming mission to the largest metal asteroid, Psyche, in 2029. Launched in October 2023 from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, the Psyche mission is set to travel approximately 2.2 billion miles (3.6 billion km) to reach its namesake asteroid. The spacecraft was propelled into space by a powerful SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket and is equipped with advanced plasma engines, allowing it to build up the necessary momentum for its long trek through the asteroid belt located between Mars and Jupiter. Last Friday, the spacecraft executed a flyby of Mars, achieving its most significant acceleration since launch. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) navigators strategically positioned the spacecraft to pass just 2,864 miles (4,609 km) above the Martian surface, well above the planet’s thin atmosphere. By harnessing Mars' gravity, Psyche effectively slingshotted itself, gaining enough speed to alter its orbit around the Sun, setting it on a course to intercept its asteroid target. Don Han, Psyche's navigation lead at JPL, expressed excitement about the successful maneuver, stating, "Although we were confident in our calculations and flight plan, monitoring the DSN's Doppler signal in real time during the flyby was still exhilarating. We confirmed that Mars provided a 1,000-mile-per-hour boost and shifted our orbital plane by about 1 degree relative to the Sun. We are now set to arrive at the asteroid Psyche in summer 2029." While the gravity assist was the primary objective of the Mars flyby, the mission also provided a valuable opportunity to test Psyche’s three scientific instruments, including a multispectral imager with dual cameras, a gamma-ray and neutron spectrometer, and a magnetometer. The data collected during this encounter will be instrumental for scientists, allowing them to refine their techniques for when the spacecraft reaches the asteroid Psyche.