Asteroid Mission Captures Rarely Seen Perspective of Mars During Close Flyby
Mars gave Psyche a 1,000 mile-per-hour boost and thousands of calibration photos as NASA’s mission heads toward asteroid 16 Psyche.
- On May 15, the NASA Psyche spacecraft performed a strategic Mars flyby, capturing rare images of the red planet while harnessing its gravitational pull to gain speed toward a distant metallic asteroid.
- To save propellant, Mars' gravitational pull acted like a natural slingshot, increasing Psyche's speed by 1,000 miles per hour and shifting its orbital plane by about 1 degree, said Don Han, Psyche's navigation lead at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.
- During the maneuver, the spacecraft came within 2,864 miles of Mars' surface, with imaging instruments capturing views extending from the south polar cap northward to the Valles Marineris canyon system.
- Jim Bell, the Psyche imager instrument lead at Arizona State University, stated that calibrating instruments on Mars is "crucial for ensuring everything performs as expected in the space environment" before the asteroid encounter.
- Psyche is now on course to arrive at the asteroid in summer 2029, where it will map the metal surface to study its origins as an ancient planetary building block.
18 Articles
18 Articles
Thanks to the planet's gravity, the spacecraft increased its speed by 1,600 km/h and successfully adjusted its flight trajectory. NASA's Psyche spacecraft successfully performed a critical gravity assist maneuver near Mars, using the planet as a "slingshot" for acceleration. The event served as a dress rehearsal for the probe's arrival at the Solar System's most metal-rich asteroid, RBC-Ukraine reported, citing Ars Technica. More interesting: Eu…
NASA's Psyche mission snaps sharpest-ever views during Mars flyby
NASA's Psyche spacecraft just snapped some unusual new views of Mars that may require cocking your head sideways.These space images can play tricks on your brain. At first glance, the bright white feature looks less like a polar ice cap and more like the eye of a storm or a cloud bank hanging off the edge of Mars. But that glowing patch is actually the planet's frozen south pole. Because Psyche approached the Red Planet from a steep angle during…
NASA Spacecraft Uses Planet Mars as NOS, Gets 1,000 MPH Boost in Race to Asteroid Belt
It’s been almost three years since American space agency NASA launched a mission to a potential planetesimal located in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, and the spacecraft at its center just reached the most exciting point in its trip out so far: planet Mars. The piece of rock this mission targets is called (continue reading...)
The trip to Mars helped calibrate the instruments of the psyche probe, which aims to reach the asteroid of the same name to study it
On the last Friday (15), the Psyche probe approached Mars, remaining at 4,609 km from it. The passage n o s gave spa onave a push towards the asteroid also called Psyche, but also m allowed to produce the new images of the red planet. Read more (05/21/2026
Coverage Details
Bias Distribution
- 67% of the sources are Center
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
