The NASA Psyche spacecraft has successfully executed a flyby of Mars, utilizing the planet's gravitational pull to accelerate towards its destination in the asteroid belt, situated between Mars and Jupiter. Engineers confirmed the spacecraft's precise trajectory through real-time radio communications with NASA's Deep Space Network (DSN), the agency's global communication system for deep space missions.
Don Han, the navigation lead for Psyche at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, expressed excitement about the successful maneuver: "While we were confident in our calculations and flight plan, monitoring the DSN's Doppler signal during the flyby was thrilling. Mars provided a boost of 1,000 miles per hour and adjusted our orbital plane by about 1 degree relative to the Sun. We are now on track for our arrival at the asteroid Psyche in the summer of 2029."
Psyche Captures Unique Crescent Views of Mars
This encounter with Mars also presented an excellent opportunity for the mission team to test Psyche's scientific instruments prior to its arrival at the asteroid. In the days leading up to the flyby, engineers powered up the spacecraft's imagers, magnetometers, and gamma-ray and neutron spectrometer.
During its approach, Mars appeared as a slender crescent due to the alignment of the spacecraft, the planet, and the Sun. The images captured by Psyche's multispectral camera revealed a crescent that extended further around Mars than anticipated, likely due to sunlight scattering through the planet's dusty atmosphere. As the spacecraft moved from the night side into daylight, it rapidly photographed the Martian surface.
"We've gathered thousands of images of Mars during our approach and at closest contact. This dataset is invaluable for calibrating our cameras and testing our early image processing tools for use at the asteroid Psyche," stated Jim Bell, the Psyche imager instrument lead at Arizona State University. "As the spacecraft continues its journey, we will keep capturing calibration images of Mars throughout the month."
Bell also leads the Mastcam-Z imaging investigation for NASA's Perseverance rover mission. Several other Mars missions, including NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and ESA's Mars Express, provided supporting observations during this flyby.
Instrument Calibration Before Asteroid Arrival
The flyby allowed scientists to gather crucial calibration data from Psyche's instruments. Initial readings from the magnetometers may have detected Mars' bow shock, where the solar wind interacts with the planet's magnetic field. Meanwhile, the gamma-ray and neutron spectrometer team collected measurements that will be compared with decades of Mars data.
With Mars now behind it, Psyche will resume its solar-electric propulsion system as it heads toward the asteroid belt, aiming to arrive at the asteroid Psyche in August 2029. Scientists believe Psyche may be the exposed partial core of an ancient planetesimal, offering a rare chance to study materials akin to those found deep within rocky planets like Earth.
"We've been looking forward to the Mars flyby for years, and now that it's complete, we can thank the Red Planet for providing our spacecraft with a crucial gravitational slingshot into the solar system," remarked Lindy Elkins-Tanton, principal investigator for Psyche at the University of California, Berkeley. "Onward to the asteroid Psyche!"
About NASA's Psyche Mission
The Psyche mission is led by Arizona State University, with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory managing mission operations and engineering. The spacecraft's solar-electric propulsion system was developed by Intuitive Machines, while ASU collaborates with Malin Space Science Systems for imaging instruments.
Psyche is the 14th mission selected for NASA's Discovery Program, managed by the agency's Marshall Space Flight Center.
