{"id":432732,"date":"2026-05-20T05:49:33","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T19:49:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/?p=997589"},"modified":"2026-05-20T05:49:33","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T19:49:33","slug":"nasas-psyche-mission-aces-mars-flyby-targets-metal-rich-asteroid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=432732","title":{"rendered":"NASA\u2019s Psyche Mission Aces Mars Flyby, Targets Metal-Rich Asteroid"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n
\n

5 min read<\/p>\n

Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\"A<\/a><\/figure>
\n
This view of a crescent Mars was captured on May 15, 2026, at about 5:03 a.m. PDT by NASA\u2019s Psyche mission as it approached the planet for a gravity assist. The image has been processed into a natural-color view using red, green, and blue data from the multispectral imager instrument.<\/div>\n
NASA\/JPL-Caltech\/ASU<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

NASA\u2019s Psyche spacecraft completed its close approach of Mars on May 15, coming within 2,864 miles (4,609 kilometers) of the planet\u2019s surface. This flyby used a gravity assist from Mars to provide a critical boost in speed and to adjust the spacecraft\u2019s orbital plane without using any onboard propellant, sending it on its way toward the metal-rich asteroid Psyche.<\/p>\n

The spacecraft is now headed directly toward the asteroid, located in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. After the Mars flyby, the flight team analyzed radio signals between the spacecraft and NASA\u2019s Deep Space Network (DSN), the agency\u2019s global system for communicating with interplanetary spacecraft, to confirm that Psyche was on the correct trajectory.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlthough we were confident in our calculations and flight plan, monitoring the DSN\u2019s Doppler signal in real time during the flyby was still exciting,\u201d said Don Han, Psyche\u2019s navigation lead at NASA\u2019s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. \u201cWe\u2019ve confirmed that Mars gave the spacecraft a 1,000 mile\u2011per\u2011hour boost and shifted its orbital plane by about 1 degree relative to the Sun. We are now on course for arrival at the asteroid Psyche in summer 2029.\u201d<\/p>\n