Psyche, a robotic spacecraft named for the rare metal asteroid it is chasing, is scheduled to slingshot past Mars this week as part of a longer route to the asteroid belt. The mission is set to pass the planet on Friday at 12,333 mph (19,848 kph), coming within 2,800 miles (4,500 kilometers), NASA said. The flyby is also expected to provide thousands of images for mission teams to test and refine how the spacecraft’s instruments perform.
NASA said Psyche’s cameras will capture Mars throughout the approach, showing the planet as a crescent before changing as the spacecraft passes, according to the AP report. After the flyby, the spacecraft will continue on toward the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, where the target is located.
For the Mars swingby, NASA said all of Psyche’s science instruments will be operating. The agency said it will coordinate simultaneous observations from multiple other missions as well, including NASA’s two Mars rovers and a small fleet of U.S. and European orbiters, which will look at surface and atmospheric conditions at the same time for comparison.
The mission’s imaging and instrument testing during the Mars pass is intended as preparation for the spacecraft’s main encounter in 2029, when Psyche will reach the rare metal asteroid it has been traveling toward. Arizona State University’s Jim Bell, the imaging team leader, said in a statement that the Mars photos will also serve as “just plain beautiful photos,” while still supporting operational fine-tuning.
Asteroid Psyche itself is described as a potato-shaped object about 173 miles long and 144 miles wide (278 kilometers by 232 kilometers). NASA and scientists suspect the asteroid could be an exposed nickel and iron core from an early planet that was stripped down by collisions. The AP report said studying such material up close can help reveal details about the solar system’s early history—about 4.6 billion years ago—along with questions about how Earth formed and how life may have emerged.
Launched in 2023, Psyche is midway through its six-year roundabout journey to the asteroid, according to the report. The spacecraft is moving through the outer solar system, about three times farther from the sun than Earth, and it is expected to arrive in 2029, slipping into orbit around the asteroid for about two years of study. The van-sized spacecraft uses solar electric propulsion and xenon gas thrusters for the long trek.