NASA’s Psyche Mission Just Blew Past Mars. It Picked Up More Than Speed
NASA's Psyche spacecraft successfully completed a flyby of Mars, coming within 2,864 miles of the planet's surface. This encounter provided a gravity assist to boost the spacecraft's speed as it continues its journey to a metal-rich asteroid. The mission aims to explore the asteroid Psyche, believed to be the exposed core of an ancient planetesimal.
- ▪Psyche completed its Mars flyby on May 15, 2023.
- ▪The spacecraft captured unique images of Mars, including its dusty surface and a crescent view.
- ▪Psyche is on a six-year journey to the asteroid belt, targeting asteroid Psyche for exploration.
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A NASA probe is currently en route to a metal-rich asteroid that may be the leftover core of an ancient planetesimal. To adjust itself for the 2.2 billion-mile journey, the spacecraft had a brief encounter with Mars, providing a valuable practice run ahead of its main mission.cnx.cmd.push(function(){cnx({"playerId":"92b7b46b-43ed-4e0e-b21b-2c999302d9d7","settings":{"advertising":{"macros":{"AD_UNIT":"/23178111854/od.gizmodo.com/article","CHILD_UNIT":"article","POST_ID":"2000761360","POST_TYPE":"post","CHANNEL":"science","SECTION":"space","SUBSECTION":"","CATEGORIES":"space","TAGS":"asteroids,mars,nasa,psyche","NOP":"0"},"timeBeforeFirstAd":0}}}).render("cnx-player-main")}); NASA’s Psyche spacecraft successfully completed a flyby of the Red Planet on May 15, coming within 2,864 miles…
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