Psyche
The Psyche spacecraft launched Oct. 13, 2023, on a mission to a unique metal-rich asteroid with the same name.
Psyche mission blog
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Psyche Swings By Mars for Crucial Maneuver
On Friday, May 15, NASA’s Psyche spacecraft got a boost from Mars, flying close to the Red Planet to harness its gravitational pull. The maneuver will speed up and steer Psyche toward the metal-rich asteroid of the same name, one of the more unusual objects in our solar system, which the mission will begin studying in 2029.
Learn More About the Mars Encounter at the Psyche Mission BlogPsyche’s Mars Flyby
On May 15, the Psyche spacecraft flew by Mars for a gravity assist, a maneuver harnessing the planet’s gravitational pull, to slingshot it the rest of the way on its journey to the asteroid belt. Relive the event, or see where Psyche is right now, using NASA's 3D interactive app, “Eyes on the Solar System.”
Experience the Gravity Assist: VisitNASA’s ‘Eyes on the Solar System’ about Psyche’s Mars Flyby
What Will Psyche Do?
Psyche is a NASA mission to study a metal-rich asteroid with the same name, located in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.
Asteroid Psyche’s gravity will capture the spacecraft in late July 2029, and Psyche will begin its prime mission in August. It will spend about two years orbiting the asteroid to take pictures, map the surface, and collect data to determine Psyche’s composition.
Goals & Objectives
Psyche is the first mission to explore an asteroid with a surface that contains substantial amounts of metal rather than rock or ice.
The mission will improve our knowledge of iron cores, a previously unexplored building block of planet formation.
About the Psyche Spacecraft
With its solar arrays deployed, NASA's Psyche spacecraft is big enough to almost cover a tennis court.
Psyche’s main computer, flight software, fault-protection systems, and most of the telecommunications systems come from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California. Attached to Psyche is the Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC), a NASA experiment that will test optical, or laser, communications beyond the Moon.
