The Mars flyby allowed NASA to calibrate Psyche’s instruments in a planetary environment before asteroid observations begin.
NASA’s Psyche spacecraft will use solar-electric propulsion again after the Mars flyby.
The Mars flyby changed NASA’s Psyche spacecraft’s orbital energy and trajectory without using propellant.
NASA plans to insert the Psyche spacecraft into orbit around asteroid Psyche in August 2029.
The Mars flyby increased NASA’s Psyche spacecraft’s speed by about 1,600 kilometers per hour.
The Mars flyby changed NASA’s Psyche spacecraft’s orbital plane by about 1 degree relative to the Sun.
NASA’s Psyche spacecraft flew by Mars on May 15, 2026.
Radar observations and thermal inertia measurements indicate that asteroid Psyche contains large amounts of metals.
NASA’s Psyche mission is traveling to the asteroid Psyche in the belt between Mars and Jupiter.
The Psyche spacecraft is scheduled to enter orbit around asteroid Psyche in late 2029.
Psyche approached Mars at nearly 20,000 kilometers per hour and used the planet’s gravity to change its trajectory without additional fuel.
The Psyche spacecraft carries a magnetometer, a gamma-ray and neutron spectrometer, and a multispectral camera.
NASA intends the Psyche mission to study the metallic asteroid Psyche to better understand how Earth formed.
NASA plans to use Psyche data to determine whether the asteroid is part of the core of a planetesimal.
Metals may make up between 30% and 60% of asteroid Psyche’s volume.
NASA’s Psyche spacecraft captured a rare crescent view of Mars during the flyby.
The Mars flyby sent NASA’s Psyche spacecraft toward the metal-rich asteroid Psyche.
NASA’s Psyche spacecraft flew by Mars on May 15 at a distance of about 4,500 kilometers.
NASA launched the Psyche spacecraft from Kennedy Space Center on October 13, 2023.
The Psyche spacecraft calibrated its instruments and took thousands of photographs during the Mars flyby.