Psyche

Psyche is a NASA mission to a metal-rich asteroid of the same name in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.^[1] Scientists think the asteroid may be part of the core of a planetesimal, one of the building blocks of an early planet, and it is the first asteroid to be explored with a surface containing substantial amounts of metal rather than rock or ice.^[1]

The mission

The spacecraft launched on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on 13 October 2023.^[1] It flew past Mars on 15 May 2026, coming within 4,609 km of the surface; the gravity assist added about 1,000 miles per hour to its speed and tilted its path by about 1 degree without using propellant.^[2] During the flyby the team tested all of its instruments and captured views of Mars, including its south polar ice cap.^[2]

Psyche uses solar electric propulsion to travel to the asteroid belt.^[2] It is to arrive and go into orbit around the asteroid in August 2029, then spend about two years mapping its surface and measuring its composition from a series of orbits.^[1][2] The asteroid is about 280 km across at its widest.^[2]

Why it matters

If the asteroid proves to be the metallic core of an ancient planetesimal, it could offer a one-of-a-kind view of the interior of rocky planets like Earth.^[2] The spacecraft also carried a NASA experiment in laser communications beyond the Moon.^[1] Psyche is the 14th mission of NASA's Discovery Program and is led by Arizona State University, with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory managing the mission.^[2]